Sucked In, a Three Way Collision
by SailorKickass270
Summary: Mayu, Nana & Sachi are sucked into their favorite anime after performing witchcraft in attempt to bring Lelouch to life. Seperated, Mayu takes the path of a Black Knight under Zero, ready to fight for Japan. While all of this happens, she's completely oblivious to what being in a war is really like. Will she and her friends break under the pressure of bloodshed or will they fight?
1. Chapter 1

**Hurray for another big Code Geass fanfic! Hopefully, you guys will like this as much as my other one. Unfortunately, Suzaku isn't in love with Lelouch this time.**

**Everyone who hates SuzakuxLelouch: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!**

**Me: Shut up.**

**Now, I'll have three female OC's who will start in the real world and later get sucked into Code Geass. I won't elaborate too much on the first character's appearance (even though she's the one in the cover picture...and I feel stupid) BUT ANYWAY I still would like the reader to feel as if this main character is them. So use your imaginations, people! And enjoy! **

**Also, I failed to do this before, I do not own Code Geass! But you all know that.**

**Remember: The I is you! xD and...there's no CG characters until chapter three (I know, I know, suffer through with me!)**

**(And for anyone who is following my other unfinished fanfics, don't worry, they aren't forgotten!)**

* * *

Prologue:

There were so many things I thought I was ready for. So many things I expected to see, expected to overlook, but this wasn't one of them. It's funny, it really is.

I wasn't ready for anything despite what I thought. And that made absolute sense.

Everything that I became, this new person, this new spectrum I see from, all started from a little blue flame. Not when I was born, not when I was abandoned, not when I was orphaned, but when I met my favorite hero and became a part of his Requiem.

* * *

I stared up at the ceiling from my bed, my hands on my stomach, and my right index finger tapping to the beat of the music that was blaring from my radio.

Here, in this orphanage, there was really nothing to do. Most of the kids here were younger than I, so they didn't really seem to care about getting along with me nor being my friends. Not that I cared. I didn't need them. Music was my escape. That, and…

Code Geass.

As soon as the song that had been playing ended, I leaped up and scampered over to turn off the radio. In an instant, I was bounding out of my room and down the hallway, towards the stairs. On my way, I nearly collided into Ms. Koi, one of the helpers of the place.

"Watch it, Mayu!" The red headed woman exclaimed as she pressed herself against the wall just in time to let me slip past. "Mayu, did you clean your part of the bathroom?" She called out.

"Yes, Ms. Koi!"

Before I knew it, the doorbell was already ringing, and my feet carried me downstairs and to the door. I opened it to find two familiar looking girls about my age standing there, smiles on their faces, bags in their hands. The shorter one had black hair that went shoulder-length, while the taller girl had a light brown hair color and blue eyes. We stood there, grinning at one another.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" All three of us shrieked with joy, huddling into a group hug. I was never one to like touching another human being, but these two girls were my best and only friends, so I suppose they were an exception.

"Did you guys get it?" I asked as we all dispersed and pulled away.

"You know it!" Sachi, the one with black hair replied, reaching a hand into one of her bags. "There was only like three copies left when we got there," she said, revealing a Code Geass manga. Volume 17.

I covered my mouth to keep from screaming.

"That's because it's pretty much one of the best anime of all time!" Nana, the light brunette proclaimed.

"Let's go, let's go! Come on!" I cried, ushering both of my friends into the small orphanage house and closing the door behind me. "To my room, you Britannian scum!"

Sachi started marching upstairs, Nana and I on her tail.

* * *

"I wish I had the power of Geass," Nana muttered, drawing the bird symbol on a scrap piece of paper. "Hey, hand me the red marker, Mayu."

I puckered out my lips, glancing at her lazily from my bed. "Why should I?"

"As Lelouch Vi Britannia, the 99th prince of Britannia, I command you!" Nana shouted, copying the hand movements from the main character of Code Geass.

Sachi rolled her eyes. "Lelouch's voice is not that high pitched. Therefor you fail."

Nana turned to her, hands on her hips. "How about like this?" She asked, her voice deepening.

"That's too deep, weirdo," I murmured, falling back on my bed.

All three of us stayed in silence for a bit, until Nana.

"Hey, you know what would be cool?"

"Hm?"

Sachi flipped onto her stomach from the floor, using her elbows to support her head. "What?"

"If we were in the Code Geass World," Nana whispered peculiarly. "I mean like with Lelouch and Suzaku…" She began to shade in the bird of the symbol. "With Geass power too…"

"That would be cool," I said, starting to drift into my imagination. "If we got to meet the characters, and attend Ashford Academy…"

"And pilot Knightmare Frames…" Sachi mumbled dreamily.

In an odd unison, all three of us sighed.

Like that was going to happen.

* * *

"Lights out! Good night, Mayu, dear," Ms. Koi purred sweetly, switching the light in my room off.

I observed the closed door for a bit from my bed, the covers pulled up until it reached my nose.

About 6 minutes later, the hallway went dark and everything was still and silent.

Slithering out of bed, I tiptoed across my room to my desk where the Code Geass manga laid, looking as tempting as ever. I opened one of the desk drawers and rummaged through it for a flash light. Once I found one, I grasped the manga lovingly, and pressed it against my chest, sneaking back under the covers.

"And that's how a boss does it," I said to myself with a triumphant giggle. Consuming myself completely under the covers, I turned on the flash light and shone it over the Code Geass manga.

* * *

"Rise and shine, it's Monday!" Kiki, a cheery blond girl about a year younger than me, declared happily as she burst into my room.

The only response I gave was a annoyed groan, yanking the sheets over my head.

Kiki strolled over and slapped my back. "Get up, lazy butt!"

"I'm up!" I shouted, slipping into a sitting position.

"Good!" She gave me thumbs up, leaving the room. "Get ready for school!"

_And I thought Shirley was aggravating._


	2. Chapter 2

My two friends stared at me from across the table with wide eyes, their gazes shifting from me to my empty plate. I blinked dumbly. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"No," Sachi murmured with a smile. "You just…usually eat slowly, but today…"

Nana flashed a grin with an optimistic raise of her eyebrows. "Somebody was hungry, huh?"

I placed an elbow on the table, supporting my head with my hand; a well-known Lelouch move. "Yeah, I was. This morning, stupid Kiki woke me up earlier, so I tried getting five more minutes of sleep which turned into forty-eight minutes, and I would have been late for the bus if I ate breakfast."

"Oh, that sucks!" Sachi commented dryly.

"Tell me about it."

Nana reached across and poked me on the forehead with her index finger. "Well, I know a great way to cheer you up!" She grabbed her backpack that lay beside her, and opened it up, pulling out a yellow magazine. "This is a catalog from a new library, and I particularly was interested in this book." Nana flipped through pages as Sachi and I leaned in closer. She laid it out on the table, pointing to a picture of an old-looking, dull brown book titled, "Witchcraft".

"What about it?" I inquired jadedly. "It's just some ancient book that claims that spells actually work."

Sachi seemed a bit pale. "Isn't witchcraft the things that always result in being cursed or killed? And by killed, I mean ripped apart from the inside out! Or- or exploding organs and guts!"

Nana rolled her eyes. "You watch too much TV. And Mayu, you never know! But that's not the point. You both remember my cousin, China, and the fact that she has photographic memory?" We nodded in unison and Nana continued. "Well, she was telling me about the spells she read about from this book, and one of them is called Reanimation."

"What does it do?" Sachi questioned quietly.

"It supposedly brings animated characters to life."

"Yeah, supposedly," I countered. "But…"

They both looked at me excitedly.

"It wouldn't hurt to try…"

I stood up and picked up my plate, and Nana and Sachi followed.

"This'll be fun! We should do Lelouch! Hey, do you have a picture of him, Mayu?"

"I'll print one out," I muttered.

Nana pumped one of her fists in the air. "Great! And I'll go order the book after school."

My friends shrieked happily, but I remained stone faced and hushed.

Maybe Sachi is right about witchcraft. We weren't certain that everything would go right…

* * *

When they arrived we ran upstairs to my room and shut the door behind us. There was no lock, but the only person who barges in uninvited is Kiki, and she currently wasn't home.

Nana read out instructions to us as Sachi and I complied to them, using black paint to draw some odd looking prehistoric star on the floor.

"This better be washable or Ms. Koi is going to stick me in the oven and serve me for dinner."

"I didn't know your family were cannibals, but no worries, it is. Now we need candles, and a lit one is to be placed on the point of each arm of the star."

I jumped to my feet and walked over to the door. "I have a lighter in my top drawer; I'll go get some candles from downstairs."

"No need," Sachi said slyly, crawling to her bag in the corner of the room. "I brought seven from home."

Nana smiled. "And this is why watching too much TV comes in handy sometimes."

"Shut up," Sachi replied bitter-sweetly as she began to put the candles on the star's points. I went and got the lighter, igniting the candles while Nana continued to read.

"Now we place the animated character's picture in the very middle of the star. Oh, mine!" The excited brunette leaped from my bed with Lelouch's picture, which she had been holding the whole time, and gently laid it in the middle like it would shatter if she wasn't careful. After that, Nana rushed back over to the book, picked it up and sat on the floor beside Sachi and I. "Okay, now we sit in the middle of the star, hold hands, and chant these words with our eyes closed."

Sachi groaned. "Not chanting…we're dead. We are so dead. Our blood is going to splatter the walls!"

"Don't jinx it," Nana said with a smirk, resting the book in her lap.

"Let's just do the freaking spell already!" I shouted impatiently.

All three of us sat inside the star, circling Lelouch's picture and grasping one another's hands.

Nana studied the page for a bit before looking up at us. "Alright, the chant goes like this: Animati parere, te rogamus, te rogamus."

Sachi's eyes widened. "What kind of language is that?!"

"It's Latin," I responded.

"Yeah," Nana said, "now all three of us need to repeat that together, three times, alright? And nobody open your eyes!"

Nana counted down and we all closed our eyes. Three, two, one…

"Animati parere, te rogamus, te rogamus."

"Animati parere, te rogamus, te rogamus."

"Animati parere, te rogamus, te rogamus."

We waited, and waited. Our eyes still shut.

That's when everything went insane.

"I don't think anything is going to- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The room suddenly felt as if it were shaking and rolling around, and crumbling noises could be heard as if the ground beneath us would split in half any second. The chaos was beyond my imagination, and no matter how much I wanted to peek at what the hell was going on around us...

"DON'T OPEN YOUR EYES!" I heard Nana shout.

Even as our bodies were pushed one way and the other, we still had firm grips of each other's hands, but my arms were starting to ache and strain, and fingers were beginning to slip. It reminded me of the roadrunner rollercoaster. You just couldn't keep yourself from flinging left or right.

This feeling made me think that the foster home was currently in a snowball that was rolling down a hill.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Sachi was still screaming, and it sounded like she was almost about ready to cry. Did we do something wrong? Had we chanted the spell incorrectly? Maybe Sachi or Nana had opened their eyes?

Out of nowhere, my hand slipped from Nana's and it felt as if I were hanging off the side of a cliff, my only life support being Sachi. I tried to keep myself from screeching out for Ms. Koi or Kiki. They couldn't help us. We were in the realm of witchcraft now.

As if my room was now flipping upside down, I literally was falling through the air, my grip on Sachi: gone. And I remember colliding with something solid before losing consciousness.

* * *

My eyes opened weakly, but I was too feeble to gasp like I wanted to. My room looked like it had been before we started to chant, the star, the candles, were in the same place as if nothing had happened.

Sachi and Nana lay unconscious on the floor which was decorated with small cracks.

From what I could see, there was blue everywhere.

Was it really there, or was it just my eyes messing with me?

I forced my eyes to open more, and I could see perfectly now. The blue was fire. But fire wasn't blue?

My gaze moved to the middle of the star. Lelouch's picture; was littered in the blue flame.

And for some reason, looking at his picture…made me very sleepy…

* * *

**DONE! JEEZ, this chapter killed me! I should be doing my chores. Well chapter 3 will finally have Lelouch and the Code Geass Characters so stay tuned for them cause I know that's what people are really waiting for. Make sure to follow if you like it, and review? I like reviews! Or maybe deeper into the story? :D thanks for even clicking on my story!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! Now for some actual Code Geass characters! Thanks for not getting bored of my OC's and moving on to another fanfic XD This is my favorite chapter of the first 3. I hope I kept Lelouch in character for this, I tried to. …And so the story continues….! **

* * *

Even though I could see nothing, I had a feeling I was in a stable environment. I could hear the sound of birds chirping, and feel wind blowing; the sun beating down on me.

But none of it made any sense. Just a while ago, I had been in my room with my friends, Sachi and Nana, and we had been attempting to bring Lelouch, a character from Code Geass, to life.

However, none of it went as planned. We ended up setting my room ablaze with blue flames, including the picture of Lelouch, and being knocked from consciousness.

"What do you think? I found her just laying here," a boy whispered.

"Well this is the perfect place for an escape convict to hide; we shouldn't just trust this person."

That voice…

_No, Mayu, you are dreaming. This is all a dream._

"But Lulu, look at her! She's probably around our age if not, younger! She doesn't appear to be a criminal to me. What do you think, president…?"

"I say that we…"

Even without having the ability to open my eyes or move my body, I had been listening, but now everything started diminishing after that, the debating voices, the heat of the sun against my skin, the feel of the grass that tickled my back…everything…

* * *

It felt like an eternity of darkness without any of my five senses. Just like before, I couldn't move, I couldn't see, and this time, I couldn't even hear. It was just nothingness.

Until…

My vision slowly came to me, blurred and disoriented, but there. I realized that my legs were wrapped around someone's waist, and my arms were slung over shoulders. From what I could tell, I was moving, but not on my own. After a few seconds, I was able to focus more, and flexing my fingers, I gripped…a shirt? My face was pressed against black hair and I ended up taking a deep breath.

"Whoever you are….your scent is really wonderful…" I murmured dreamily.

Somebody- a male- chuckled at my statement. "I'm guessing you're feeling better now."

This voice had sounded exactly like Lelouch from Code Geass, but I wasn't senseless, I would wake up and Kiki would be shoving me out of bed to get ready for school.

"Mhmm…" I muttered, slipping back into oblivion once…again.

This time, my snap to consciousness was swift and sudden. I sat up, my breathing coming out ragged and uneven, gripping my throat, and then checking myself as if I wouldn't be in one piece. I took note of the fact that my eyesight returned to normal, but the real question was; where the heck am I?

"Woah, there…you should relax. You're pale enough as it is!"

My head gaze followed the cheerful, sweet voice, and I literally, who I saw first was Shirley in her Ashford uniform, staring at me with concern. And as my eyes traveled the room which appeared to be some sort of infirmary, they met with Milly, Rivalz, Nina, and…

"YOU…you're…I-I…uh!"

Unlike everyone else, who was closer to me, Lelouch was standing across the room; his back leaning against the wall. He raised an eyebrow comically, despite his awkward sociability, and smiled. "Feeling better?"

And that's when I become conscious of what I had said…

Regardless of the things I actually wanted to say to him, it came out along these lines; "I'm really, truly, very, terribly sorry about what happened earlier! I-I wasn't thinking when I said that! I totally support you and C.C; you guys are made for each other! I mean not that what I said was meant to be a pickup line or an attempt to flirt with you…but that doesn't mean nobody would flirt with you, I mean have you seen yourself lately?! You're very…" I trailed off of my out of the blue rant, when I spotted Lelouch's eyes narrow in suspicion. Right, I wasn't supposed to _know_ about C.C.

Shirley tilted her head. "Who is C.C?"

"She's probably just confused," Rivalz indirectly replied, obviously freaked out by the weird atmosphere I caused. He walked over to the side of my bed and placed a hand on my forehead. "You're burning up."

_Thank you, Rivalz,_ I silently said to myself._ Thank you!_

Milly gave me a dazzling beam. "Well not to worry, you can stay here until you get better." She patted my head gently, but put on her serious face. "So what is your name and where do you live?"

I cautiously peered over to Lelouch, careful to make it unapparent. He was watching me with pure attentiveness as if waiting for something untrustworthy to slip from my mouth.

Nervous, I did the only thing that seemed smart. I ran my way around the truth.

"I don't remember…" I said as harmlessly as I could muster. "My memories are a bit fuzzy."

Shirley frowned at me sympathetically. "You don't even remember how you got to our school?"

I shook my head.

"Well, don't worry about a thing!" Milly piped. "What's your name, if you can recall it...?"

"I-I can. It's Mayu."

From the very back of the room, near the door, Nina murmured, "that's a pretty name…"

Even though I didn't like Nina from the anime, I forged a fake smile. "Thank you."

Milly seemed to brightened up at my transformation from the frown I must have been making, and she started introductions. "Well, Mayu, that girl who just complimented you is Nina. I'm Milly, Milly Ashford, at your service! I'm sure we'll be great friends! This girl here is Shirley. That's Rivalz, and, I'm guessing you and Lelouch have already met?"

Before I could answer to that, Lelouch was up to his old lying tricks.

"Actually, we have. Isn't that right, Mayu?"

I wasn't sure whether he was somehow testing me, or if I was supposed to agree, but it probably wouldn't make Lelouch happy if I said no. "Yes…"

"Really now?" Rivalz whistled jokingly. "How many ex-girlfriends do you have, Lelouch?!"

The raven-haired boy laughed. "Less than you think."

Did Lelouch just kind of introduce me as one of his ex-girlfriends?

Whether he did or not, that's what I was assuming, and it took everything in my power not to…fangirl.

So I repeatedly blinked, dumbfounded.

Milly had turned to look at me, and when she did, she tittered. "You'll get used to Rivalz in no time. He's always like that." She started for the door. "I'll go and see if I can beg my grandfather to let you attend our Academy. In the meantime, Lelouch, since you know Mayu the best, why don't you take her to one of the available dorms?"

* * *

The walk from the infirmary had been quiet between Lelouch and me. And it was obvious why that was. He was thinking, wondering how I knew about C.C when we have never crossed paths. Perhaps he thought I was a spy of some sort. Every now and then, I'd pick up my slow pace when I realized how far behind I was from the fast-walking Lelouch. My gaze never left him.

I wish I knew what he was thinking.

Oh Mao's Geass power wouldn't hurt right about now.

* * *

"This is your dorm for now. It's not that big, but I don't think you'll find that a problem," Lelouch said as he opened the door to the room.

He was right, it wasn't very big, but I didn't care. Just having a room is good enough for me.

There was a bed in the far corner, a nightstand with a lamp, a computer desk with some drawers, and another room which probably was a bathroom.

I was about to thank Lelouch when I heard the sound of a door closing. Turning around, I was shoved into a wall by Lelouch who was now glaring at me, pinning my arms.

I started flailing and thrashing around as best I could. "You're hurting me…!"

"Tell me who you are and how you know about C.C," he commanded.

_His Geass…_

I squeezed my eyes shut, looking away from Lelouch, afraid he'd use his power on me.

What would he think if he knew that I wasn't even supposed to be in this world? What would he do? I wanted to be a part of Code Geass. I wanted to stay here; I had nothing back in reality.

Besides Sachi and Nana…

Now that I thought about it, what happened to them? I ended up here, but where were they?

Lelouch's grip on my wrists loosened, but only slightly.

"Why are you closing your eyes?"

That was his little _innocen_t voice.

"Why are you pinning me against a wall?" I countered crudely.

This time, he let go completely, and I opened my eyes, but didn't look at him.

Lelouch headed for the door. "Sorry. I'm going to go see if Milly asked her grandfather about you yet."

Once he left, I placed a hand on my face to touch hot skin.

Racing for the bathroom, I stared at the mirror and scowled.

I was blushing.

_How embarrassing_.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, you really don't remember anything?" Lelouch inquired disdainfully, glancing over his shoulder at me. I felt my jaw set unwillingly as I awkwardly followed him. I couldn't help the fact that I was walking as if my panties were stuck between my ass cheeks, but I wasn't a 'skirt person.'

Lelouch blinked at me. "You don't like the uniform?"

"That's not it," I replied hastily. "I just don't usually wear skirts…especially short ones like these…"

The raven haired boy laughed, and I took note of how cute it was, allowing myself to smile. But it slowly faded when I realized he was probably still apprehensive of me.

I mean, he had attempted to use his Geass on me…or had I just been overreacting?

Nah.

* * *

It had been a whole night already since I had woken up in Code Geass. And so much has happened, but there were still things I needed to find out. Like what had become of Sachi and Nana? They had performed the same spell I had, so if I ended up in this world, they had to be here too, but where? From my knowledge, the Japanese were still being mistreated by Britannia. My friends and I are all Japanese…

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Startled, I snapped out of my train of thought, nearly leaped from the couch and looked up.

Milly and Shirley were staring at me from across the room. The two girls were sitting at the table, papers scattered all over. Nina, who had been working on the computer, was observing me, too.

"Don't worry, Mayu. Your boyfriend only went to go get Rivalz, he'll be back for you," Milly said wittily with a wink.

I sighed, "I know…"

"BOYFRIEND?" Shirley and I shouted in unison, the older girl suddenly standing to her feet.

This caused Milly and Nina to giggle at my blushing face and Shirley's mixed expression of shock. I knew Shirley liked Lelouch, and it probably didn't make her very happy to unexpectedly be losing to a random girl who woke up and has no memory of her past. Then again, when was she ever winning?

Lelouch doesn't care about that sort of stuff…

"You have it all wrong! I wasn't even worried about that, it's something completely different! And he is not my boyfriend!"

"Sure." Milly said. She grabbed Shirley's arm, forcing the girl to sit back down. "Then what are you worried about? You had this kind of weird expression before."

My mouth tried to open, to come out with the truth, but it couldn't. They had took me in and been wonderful to me. Whether they realized I was Japanese or not, I wasn't sure. I wanted to tell Milly and the others about my friends. Maybe they could do something to help me find them…

But I was currently pretending to have no memories, so what would randomly spilling out things about my friends who would be considered part of my _past, _do for me?

Would they refuse to help or worst, would this cause everyone to resent me?

The door opened and Lelouch and Rivalz came strolling into the Student Council room. Shirley and Milly lost their interest in me, turning their heads at the two.

"Where the heck were you?" Milly asked.

Rivalz grinned. "Well if you really want to know…"

Lelouch swiftly took notice of my presence and made his way over to me. My hands snaked into my lap slowly, and I clasped them together as he sat down next to me.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded, pushing some hair behind my ears.

_Why did I do that?! I am such a girl. Wait. I am a girl! Mayu, cut it out! Stop thinking like a weirdo!_

He kept those gorgeous eyes trained on me the whole time like a hungry predator to a little, weak-minded prey. (Did I really just say that?) And I stared back.

Maybe looking right into his eyes would make him less guarded that I may know about his Geass, though that was unlikely. This guy was more complicated than a jigsaw puzzle.

"Staring passionately into each other's eyes, huh?"

"What?!" I shrieked, glaring at Rivalz, who was smirking pervertedly.

"And what's it to you?" Lelouch contradicted casually.

"That's my boy! Woo the ladies with the pupils," Rivalz said giving his friend a thumbs up.

From the corner of my vision, I could see Shirley seething, but I could tell she was trying to make it less obvious than it actually was. And that did not make me feel good. She may be annoying, but she definitely did not deserve this…

"Mayu," Milly murmured. "Are you blushing?"

I don't know if I really was, but I automatically raised my hands to my face, covering it from everyone's view. "AH! No! Of course not! See, I have this condition that makes my cheeks turn red…!"

The room began to fill with laughter, and I could just make out Lelouch's from all the others, but I had a strong feeling Shirley wasn't even giggling a little.

When the chortling calmed down, Milly gave me an encouraging smile. "Let's not embarrass this poor girl, guys." She paused for a few seconds. "Changing the subject, I hope you like it here, Mayu. My grandfather said it's perfectly fine that we house you here at Ashford for the time being."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed happily. "I owe you one. Anytime you need something, just ask me."

Rivalz peered at me with wide eyes. "Oh, don't say that…"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Well…" Milly said, the corners of her mouth rising. "I do need to run an errand, but-" She pulled up an innocent face. "-I just don't feel like going out…" Her eyes seemed to be twinkling at me now.

My shoulders shrugged. "That's fine. I like running errands."

"Then get over here, kiddo!" Milly chirped, motioning me over to the table. "I'll draw you a map of the area so you don't get lost. And remember stay away from the ghettos."

I tried to appear interested yet unaware. "The ghettos?"

Milly was so induced to drawing that she didn't answer.

"The ghettos are a place for the elevens," Nina muttered inaudibly, spinning in her chair until she faced me. The atmosphere was beginning to feel a bit gloomy.

I was guessing I wasn't supposed to know, so I attempted to seem clueless. "Elevens?"

"The Japanese." Lelouch responded. "Britannia took over Japan a while ago, and the people have been deprived of their name and country which is now called Area 11 and their race, Elevens."

"That's rotten and unfair!" I shouted.

"Well we have no say in it," Shirley said. "There's nothing any of us can do. We're just students."

Nina turned back to her computer. "Exactly, and who cares anyway."

I didn't like the sudden chills that ran up my spine. And I had thought just watching the anime was scary enough. But I am Japanese and now that I am in this situation…

Still, I wasn't as worried as I should've been. People always looked at me, and could never tell that I was even from Japan. So maybe that's how it was now as well. But Sachi and Nana…

"Done!" Milly piped, jumping up and handing me a drawn map of the area. "And by the way, that red line leads into the ghettos; like I said before; avoid it. There are things you don't want to see…"

"Okay..." I started for the door.

"And Mayu?"

I turned around just in time to catch a phone that was thrown my way.

Milly gave me one last smile. "Use my cell to call Lelouch if you get lost, got it?"

"Got it!" I said, leaving the room.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Warning! There's a slight but weak spoiler to Code Geass R2's ending, so if you haven't finished it. Don't read this chapter. Or you can. But I warned you! And don't forget to review! I love them!**_

* * *

_Finally on my way back home, _I thought to myself wearily as I strode through the town with a plastic shopping bag in my hand that was full of the items Milly needed. I was usually the type of person to enjoy strolling under the sun, running errands and what not, but I didn't want to be here any longer.

The place was just… too jolly. Malls and stores were just as animated looking as the Britannians who were, of course, cheery and contented, beaming as if they were on top of the world. With the sound of them all chattering to whomever, the forum was as noisy and distracting as it could get. It disgusted me how they seemed to give not a damn care in the world about the Japanese who were suffering with poverty, hunger and prejudice. Still, all I could do was keep moving until I was away from these unpleasant and uncaring people.

As I went along, my gaze kept searching everyone who passed by me, secretly hoping that one of them be Sachi or Nana. However, that only placed me in a lot of misfortune.

"Hey!" An older man crudely bellowed as we collided into one another.

My body briskly backed up, and I bowed respectfully just like Ms. Koi had taught me to do. "Oh, I'm so very sorry, sir!" I peered up at him cautiously. "I hadn't been looking where I-"

"Do you know who I am?" He queried rhetorically. The man's appearance reminded me of Clovis. He had a fancy kind of outward look; shoulder-length blond hair, blue eyes, a fragile face, a scent of some classy cologne that made me crinkle my nose in repulsion, not to mention that it was so strong on him that my pupils were on the verge of liberating tears.

From his exterior, it seemed best to keep from being troublesome. "Well…no…"

"That is no, SIR, you stupid Eleven!" He barked dramatically, causing people around us to stop and stare. "All of your kind just boil my buttons…bumping into me like that as if you don't know your place!"

His ill-mannered statement shocked me a bit, but it wasn't because of his prejudice retort. Back at Ashford, it was like nobody could tell I was Japanese, but this man here knew, and he had only just laid eyes on me. Did this mean that everyone else, including Lelouch had knowledge of it as well? Were they hiding it or did they really not notice?

While I had been thinking, the blond man had pulled back an arm, ready to strike me down. Too afraid to move, I raised my hands in defense and squeezed my eyes shut…but the blow never came.

"Let go of me at once!"

Feeling the sudden presence of another person, I slowly left my self-protective stance to see something astonishing. A boy stood between the Britannian and I, his fingers clamped around the man's wrist. He seemed to be slightly older than me and a few inches taller in height. From behind, he appeared to be an attractive guy and if I could guess, he was not Japanese. I rarely see blond people in Japan who weren't tourists or visitors.

"If I let go of you, walk away," he said with a soft yet cold, 'matter of fact' tone. "She hasn't done anything to you and she's obviously not your child, therefor you have no right to hit her."

In an anime, my eyes would now be sparkling unrealistically, staring at him with awe. He was so…cool!

The man continued to glare, shifting his vicious gaze between me and my savior before settling on him. "You're not an Eleven, so why are you protecting this mutt?"

"Because, I'm not a bias bastard like you, sir," he spat the last word out bitterly, releasing his grip of the Britannian and turning on his heel. He moved over to me, grabbed the sleeve of my uniform, and started dragging me along. Of course, I didn't know this boy, but he had just came to my rescue so what did I have to worry about? As we walked away, I peeked over my shoulder at the rude man and the group of people who had been watching us. One thing was certain; he was not happy.

* * *

He may have saved me from being hit, but…the whole alleyway was just a little too much.

The blond guy pulled me silently, not saying a word the entire way. He mysteriously looked left and right before towing me into the alley.

"Excuse me," I said when he let go of my sleeve. "Why are we here? I-"

My hand clamped over my nose as if it would start to bleed any second when he turned to face me. DAMN.

He was definitely attractive. His skin was pale, and it made me think he could have been a vampire. The size of his body seemed just right, and the white shirt he wore was pushed up at the sleeves just a little before his elbows, cuffed. His blond hair came in locks around his eyes…which were a yellowish…gold?

"We're here because I want to talk to you, Mayu," he replied in monotone.

"You know my-?"

"Yes, I do." He glanced up at the orange sky, and I followed, finally realizing that the sun was setting. Had shopping for Milly taken that long?

When I returned my gaze to him, I came to his unemotional stare. "I'm guessing you have to get back to Ashford?" I blinked and he went on. "I know a lot about you; let's leave it at that so we can make this quick. Listen, you have a huge role to play, Mayu. And it's a treacherous one, too. So-"

I cut him off by raising a hand. "Wait a minute, what role? What are you talking about? Who are you?"

The blond rolled his eyes peevishly. "I'm Ryou, and I'm getting to that." He paused as if trying to plan on his next words. "I know about you, and your friends, Sachi and Nana, and the witchcraft you three performed. One of you screwed it up, and it sent you here."

"Yeah, so what if it did?"

Ryou sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "I used to be able to see visions. Before you even woke up here, I knew. And I know what you and your friends are about to face."

I bit my lip. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you are aware of Geass, aren't you?" I nodded. "Before I obtained a Code, I had a Geass myself. It unconsciously threw visions into my head. Mayu, you are in for a lot of pain, blood…and death. That's why you need to find Sachi and Nana, and leave."

Leave? How could I do that when everything was happening to Japan and the Japanese?

"I can't!" I shook my head quickly, refusing to let the words convince me to go. "You've probably noticed I am Japanese myself and…Elevens and Area 11? I can't just leave."

Ryou gritted his teeth. "What are you going to do about it? You're just a girl!"

That got me, and I shamefully shrugged my shoulders in defeat. What would I do?

"Still," I murmured. "I won't leave. I want to see this out until the end, whether I'm doing something about it or not…"

Even though the ending of Code Geass was in favor of Japan as well as Britannia, I had a feeling that things were going to go off balance due to me, Sachi and Nana's existence.

Suddenly, the air became less thick and I caught Ryou smiling at me which was weird since he sounded aggravated with me not too long ago.

"Why are you…?"

"I suspected you wouldn't listen to me. You really are something. If you plan to stay, I might as well tell you what else I've seen." Ryou inched closer to me, lowering his voice to a whisper. "You are going to be a Black Knight."

I gasped, observing the blond with wide eyes. "NO WAY! I will?"

"Yes. Lelouch will learn to trust you soon enough. If you don't screw it up, that is. It's possible to do so now that you are aware of it."

"What else?"

Ryou blinked his eyes in thought, and then waved me off. "I'll tell you more later on, but first, I need to give you a gift that will help you. I've been saving it just for you."

He reached out as he said this and grasped my hand.

From then on, it was blurry, but I do remember our last exchange afterwards…

"Well?"

Without taking much time to decide, I said, "I accept the terms of your contract."


	6. Chapter 6

Sachi's eyes were closed when she washed up on shore. Literally, the small waves gave her a little push, leaving her upon the sand as it descended back to sea. In the slight consciousness she felt, her clothes were soaked, clinging onto her skin. The same went for her stringy, wet hair, which began to capture particles of sand that were beneath her. She could feel the sun heating her up, the wind slightly blowing, and smell the scent of the beach.

"Hey, Suzaku, look over here!" A girl's voice exclaimed.

"What is-?" He stopped mid-sentence when he caught a glimpse of what, or more like whom, she had been pointing at.

* * *

I kept a sharp, quick pace as I made my way back to Ashford, unable to keep from thinking.

Had I really just obtained my own Geass? And if I did, and I wasn't dreaming, then what kind was it? Would it be like Lelouch's, the ability to bend a person's will to my command? It was obvious mine wasn't like Mao's or else I'd be able to hear the thoughts of those I passed by on the streets.

My fingers tightened in grip around the plastic bags in my hands, and I began to watch my feet as I walked.

Perhaps I should have asked Ryou if he had any idea of my type of Geass. But I hadn't. So now, I suppose it was just up to me to figure it out for myself, but who would I use it on?

* * *

Upon arrival at Ashford, I spotted Milly and the others, waiting outside of the buildings, taking refuge under a tree. Lelouch had his back against it, and everyone else was circled around. Besides Rivalz.

I hurried over, presenting the bag to Milly with a smile. "Mission accomplished!"

The student council group glanced up at me and Lelouch returned the smile. "Welcome back, Mayu."

"Yeah, welcome back," Milly said; her usual preppy voice absent.

I took note of the fact that none of them looked content. It was expressions of unease and worry.

"What's up with you guys?" I probed.

Shirley's hands clamped together in her lap and she sighed. "It's just Rivalz has been gone for too long. He left shortly after you did, climbing over the fence in search of Nana."

My face grew pale at Shirley's last word. Nana was here?

I almost dropped the shopping bags out of anticipation and delight. "Who's Nana?"

"She's a half-breed girl that-" Shirley's eyes cultivated in size. She had been facing me, but now she seemed to be looking past me not at me. "-AH! Is that Rivalz?!"

We all turned our heads to follow Shirley as she pointed a finger in the direction behind me. Rivalz was just getting himself over the fence, sliding off from the top into the Academy's land. He gave us a laughable grin and a quick wave before looking back at the fence. I watched as another person, a girl made her way over as well. At the first sight of the Ashford uniform I had thought maybe it wasn't my Nana, but when she comically fell, trying to lower herself down, I knew it was most definitely her. Back in our world, she had always been clumsy, especially in dance class with her three left feet.

Still, I waited, motionless.

"Woah there!" Rivalz exclaimed as he grabbed for her in effort to slow down her fall. "You really need to be more careful!"

Milly huffed out a little giggle. "He sure is growing up, touching girls like that, isn't he?" As she spoke, she glanced at Lelouch as if the rhetorical question was directed at him. "Just like you with Mayu."

"Student Council President!" Shirley shrieked, balling her fists in her lap.

Lelouch chuckled. "I suppose so. But I don't think Nana would go for a guy like Rivalz."

I had been so sucked into the conversation that I nearly forgot about my friend for a bit, but at the mention of her name, I blinked, and realized Nana was running straight at me.

"MAYU, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S YOU!"

Usually, in anime, when two people, friends or lovers, run at one another screaming the other's name, there would be a background full of pink hearts, and mushy music playing as we move in slow motion. But Code Geass just isn't that type of anime. Oh well!

I placed the plastic bags on the ground and started for Nana, both of us now running towards each other. She opened up her arms wide and I did the same.

"MAYU!" She cried.

"NANA!" I yelled.

"MAYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

"NAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

When we finally reached each other, Nana leaped into me, almost making me fall over. I squeezed her tightly, refusing to let go as if it had been a decade since I've seen her.

She rubbed her face into the side of my head. "I've found you, my love!"

My grip loosened, and I pouted. "Don't start this again. I understand you take drama classes, but this-"

"So long, it has been!" Nana proclaimed theatrically, shaking me in her arms. "Millennia, it has felt like, being but not by your side! But fear not, my sweet Mayu! NANA IS HERE!"

She began to pet my hair, and before I knew it, everyone from student council was surrounding us, laughing. And everyone included Nina.

_Oh, how I dislike Nina._

"So you two know each other?" Shirley asked.

I had no chance to answer before Nana intertwined our arms and said, "We sure do! We're old friends, isn't that right, Mayu?"

I nodded, beaming. "Yup!"

Rivalz awkwardly fist pumped. "You know what that means? Story time!"

* * *

Nana and I cheerfully followed Lelouch to my dorm. Nothing could put a downer on my mood. Finally, I had found one of my friends. All that was left to do was reunite with Sachi and maybe, just maybe, we could stay here. I didn't want to go back to that orphanage, to the repeated routines day after day. It just wasn't up my alley. It was too boring.

"Are you sure you're okay with sharing the dorm? I'm pretty sure we can find you your own room, Nana." Lelouch said, in his typical good boy tone.

"Yes I am! If we share a dorm, Mayu and I can have sleepovers every night!" Nana excitedly linked arms with me again, starting to skip. "Won't that be fun?"

I smiled. "Of course; just don't be keeping me up late. We actually attend this place, you know."

"I know," Nana huffed.

Once we reached the dorm, Shirley, out of the blue, came running down the hall. She grasped a hold of Nana's arm and started to drag her away. "Hey, uh, don't mind me, just going to borrow her for a second! Official Student Council business between us two! Be right back! Bye Lulu!"

My friend mouthed "help me," but I just saluted her with a smirk.

Or perhaps I should have called her a soldier and wished her good luck. Shirley can be…weird at times.

Lelouch turned to face me, obviously not as amused as I was. "I guess I should be taking my leave-"

"Wait," I murmured, surprising myself. "Could I… talk to you about some things?"

"Like what?"

I could sense the feeling of suspicion coming from Lelouch, but I ignored it as best I could, pulling him into my dorm and closing the door behind us. "Like...things about me…"

"What about you?"

"Well…" I tried to summon up all the courage I could. "You remember how I was randomly blurting things out the first day you found me and I ended up mentioning C.C?"

Lelouch was suddenly glaring at me. "Yes…"

Inside, I became frozen by the fact that we were sharing eye contact. This was it. He could use his Geass on me right now. A few seconds passed by.

A minute.

Why wasn't he using it?

"Well, you see, I know about C.C. The contract, your Geass…it's powers…what you plan to do for your sister, Nunnally. And I know that you're Zero's true identity." I instinctively turned my head sideways to avoid his Geass in case the shock of the news caused him to put it to use, but as the seconds went by, it seemed that he wouldn't, and I continued. "But I can keep the secret, I swear!"

The little innocent voice he had before was gone now. "Who else knows?"

"Just Nana, but she can keep the secret, too…"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW?"

The outburst kind of scared me into whimpering a bit, but when I heard him sigh, I looked up. Lelouch was rubbing his forehead wearily, but then he caught my gaze.

"Answer my questions."

At first I thought he was only asking, but I realized too late that he had commanded it. The idiot I was, I had been staring right into his eyes. And now…I would answer his questions.

_Answer my questions._

Whether I wanted to or not…

* * *

I blinked. My brain felt fuzzy, thoughts appeared to be jumbled, and my head throbbed. Rubbing my eyes, I realized Lelouch was standing in front of me, one of his hands on my cheek. And he was smiling, and it was that smile he always had whenever things were going his way.

"Oh!" My face grew hot. "What are you…what just happened?"

Lelouch stared at me with a concerned look, his lips forming a frown. "Are you alright? All I did was kiss you and you kind of went blank after that."

_He what?!_

I felt my heart leap. "I did? I'm sorry. It must have been one amazing kiss…" I sighed. "Why did I say that?"

The raven-haired boy laughed. "Still as odd as ever." His hand dropped to his side. "I guess I should be going since it's late. I'll see you tomorrow." He started off to make his leave, wishing me good night before closing the door. But I stood there.

Why did I feel so confused? As if I was missing something? What had just happened? Was it the cause of Lelouch's kiss or had it been a lie? Or had he…

I gasped. "No way…"

* * *

**Jeez, this chapter! I'm so eager to get to the epic parts of this story that chapters like these are killing me! So my apologizes if this chapter seems rushed, I tried my best not to make it like that...but stay tuned people! This is only the beginning! *scary music* dun dun DUN! don't forget to show your love for Sucked In by reviews, favorites and follows :D -Sailorkickass270**


	7. Chapter 7

**So thanks for the reviews so far and to answer your question Himeno so you're not confused; Lelouch used his Geass on Mayu. She answered any question that he asked her, but I won't say what it is he knows yet. You'll find out for yourself just like Mayu ;P**

* * *

The sudden bright light that lunged into Sachi's vision when she opened her eyes surprised her, causing her to gasp, but only weakly due to her condition. As they adjusted to her surroundings, she realized she was in a room.

She sat up a bit, coming to the awareness of being in a bed, wearing hospital clothes, and two people staring at her from across the room. They had been talking, but now were watching her, their faces full of relief. One man appeared to be a doctor since he had the white coat and everything. The man had graying hair, but you could still see his natural black hair color easily. Beside him, was a younger man with brown, somewhat curly hair, emerald eyes, and shared the same facial features as Suzaku from Code Geass. Seriously, it was like her favorite character was standing right in front of her.

Sachi covered her mouth to keep from screaming, staring at the two with enormous eyes, her mouth slightly agape.

The older man hurried over, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Are you alright? Do you need to vomit or anything?"

She shook her head, dropping her hand. "No sir, I'm fine. If I may ask, where am I?"

"You're in a hospital near Japan," replied the younger male from across the room. "A friend and I found you washed up on shore. Were you in a shipwreck?"

"No," Sachi said, remembering the witchcraft she, Nana and Mayu had attempted to perform. Had the spell worked? "Excuse me, what is your name?"

"Suzaku Kururugi."

* * *

Sachi followed Suzaku, keeping a tight grasp on his sleeve as they walked past other Britannian citizens. It didn't take Sachi long to comprehend the fact that she and her friends were the ones sucked into the anime, not vice versa. And Suzaku only strengthened her certainty as he told her of the Ghettos, the settlement, the Britannians and the Elevens. Everything was just like Code Geass. Never had she felt so concerned for herself. Perhaps that was because she was no longer watching from the safety of her room.

Passing by all these Britannians when she herself was Japanese, but Suzaku didn't seem alarmed at all.

"Aren't you ever nervous, being an Eleven and walking in this area?"

The brown haired boy shrugged. "Not really. I am an Honorary Britannian after all. But how about we talk about you? If you weren't on a sinking ship, then what did happen? Where's your family?"

They walked in silence for a bit longer, Sachi using those precious seconds to think of a lie. She had no "family" in this world so she couldn't make them up. What if Suzaku tried to do everything in his power to find them for her? He never would, for they didn't exist in this world, so that lie was out of the question. But, she did have friends.

Sachi peered up at her new acquaintance with acquitted eyes. "Do you really want to know the truth?" She asked. When Suzaku nodded, she bluntly said, "My family is dead."

The news came out flat and quick. Sachi averted her eyes, afraid that her face would give her away.

"I'm sorry..." Suzaku murmured.

The girl heaved her shoulders in a shrug just as the Japanese boy had not too long ago. "It's fine," she muttered inordinately, trying to sound angry. "I understand the whole discrimination thing. Britannian soldiers just shoot Japanese without hesitation, or sympathy. But…I do have two friends I am searching for currently. I don't know where they are, but we usually always stick together. And without them, I feel lost and confused…"

"Well they could be anywhere." Suzaku gave her a sideways glance, before beaming encouragingly. "But I think I have a better idea."

* * *

"Mayu…are you still awake?"

The bed covers that were completely devouring me head to toe, crinkled a bit as I shoved them off. In the blackness of the dorm, my eyes fluttered repeatedly until they accustomed to the dimness. Across from me, Nana was sitting up on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chin and her arms wrapped around her legs.

From the appearance of her straight hair, I assumed she hadn't even fallen asleep yet since usually in our sleepovers, she'd wake up with the worst case of bed head.

"Yeah," I murmured, half-asleep. "What is it? Do you know how late it is?"

"Of course I do!" She exclaimed, and then sighed, this time lowering her voice. "I just have a feeling you were hiding something from me earlier."

"What do you mean?"

I observed her warily, just barely catching her eyes narrow. "After I came back from being kidnapped by Shirley…all you wanted to do was go to bed. Aren't you excited at all, Mayu? We are in the world of Code Geass! Back in Japan, in our world, all you used to talk about was Lelouch, Lelouch, and Lelouch." Nana paused, switching her position to hanging her feet over the edge of her bed, and then went on. "Sachi and I always knew about your little infatuation with him. And now you can actually speak to him, but when you had time with him alone and I came back…you just had this expression…like you were gloomy and lost… What did he tell you?"

"More like what did he do to me."

I felt Nana's stare just burning into my soul. "Did he use his…you know…Geass on you?"

"I'm not even sure anymore, but I feel like he did and that he knows about you, Sachi and I, that we're not supposed to be here. But that's not the whole story. Things just happened so…fast…"

"We have all night," Nana contradicted.

It was true. We did have all night, but I didn't want it to take that long, so I was hasty.

I started with running errands for Milly after waking up in the infirmary of Ashford Academy. From then, I reached the meeting with Ryou, the mysterious, most likely Britannian, blond who came to my rescue, and his offered contract and gift of Geass.

Nana nearly leaped from her bed in curiosity, cutting me off with questions. "You have your own Geass? What's your unique power? Did you use it on somebody yet?"

It surprised me that she didn't ask more about Ryou.

"I don't know yet," was my response and Nana huffed, begging me to go on.

Continuing from where I left off, I skipped over to returning to Ashford and being reunited with her.

Nana leaned forward. "And then?"

"I told you," I muttered. "After that, Lelouch and I talked; I have no memory of what our conversation was about, only afterwards."

"Then he did use his Geass on you!" Nana claimed. "All his victims can never remember what happened before; everything is just a fuzzy blur to them."

Nothing but silence came from my end, until Nana probed, "what about this Ryou? Did he tell you anything that may be important?"

I gazed up at the ceiling in thought, unconsciously placing my index finger on my bottom lip. Had Ryou told me anything of significance?

When it came to me, I eagerly abandoned my comfortable position, sitting up on my knees and grinning at Nana in the dark. "Yes! Ryou said that we were going to become Black Knights! We'll get to battle alongside Kallen, Tamaki…C.C; all while saving the world!"

My expectations of her reaction weren't what happened in reality. I pictured her squealing in enthusiasm at the fact that we would become heroes just like the actual Black Knights in Code Geass, but it was more the contradictory. Nana, from what I could tell, was observing me quietly like she did with word search puzzles as if she were trying to figure me out.

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" She inquired with an intense yet almost discreet voice.

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? You were just excited not too long ago about-"

"About being here," she retorted, slicing right through my last word. "Not about fighting in a life or death war. Mayu, I think you're naive of our inability to become part of Zero's force. Look, I've known you since you were 8 and I know that it's been your dream to be a hero, but this is not something that matches our limits, I mean be realistic, we're all 16 year olds, going on 17! There's not much we can accomplish!"

As Nana ranted, I felt like someone had stolen the real one, and substituted her. "Well Lelouch is 17 going on 18, and you've seen all he's done, and if he can do it so can we…"

"He's from an anime, Mayu, of course he could execute that, he's not real! And just because we're here; it doesn't change the fact that this is all just a show."

I had no idea if Nana saw or not, but I waved my hand with a flick of my wrist, laying back down and pulling the bed covers over me. "Exactly, Nana," I murmured. "You're absolutely right. But we're in an anime now, aren't we?" It was a rhetorical question, but I paused as if she'd give me an answer anyway. She didn't. "So perhaps, we too, could succeed in being part of the Black Knights."

"And end up dead like Lelouch?" Nana countered crudely.

I cocked my head in her direction. "You know just as well as I do that Lelouch survived in the end. It was in the uncut, original Japanese version!"

When her reply didn't come as fast, I had a thought that maybe I had won, so I shifted to my side; my back facing Nana, and then she said, "Yes, but with a Code…and last time I checked, you're the only one with a contract and an immortal partner who could give you one…" This final attempt to reply, had jumped from her tongue sounding so broken, so beaten and defeated. I said nothing in return, only listened as I heard her slip back into her bed.

For a while, even after Nana was fast asleep, I dawned on her concluding sentence.

I had a Geass, a contract and an immortal partner who could possibly pass down his Code to me, dubbing me with the power of living on for generations?

A chill ran up my spin, and I curled up into a ball.

Had Nana been right all along? Had I really allowed this all to fly over my head?

Or was there really a chance for us to be part of this Requiem?

Still, if we died…it would be game over.

But, could my Geass do something to keep us alive just as Lelouch's had for him?

I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping I'd just fall into a sweet slumber. For me, all this thinking was getting tiring and causing my head to throb painfully.

Before I dozed off, I came to a conclusion. I would join the Black Knights, with or without Nana, or perhaps get Lelouch to force her into it with Geass, though there was a possibility he wouldn't want that. I would find Ryou; he'd be close by since our contract binds us together. If I have trouble locating him, I'd get myself into trouble, maybe bump into a Britannian man again, and he'd most likely come to my rescue. With him on my side, he'd give me protection, guaranteeing my safety. And without having to worry about my own skin, I'd make sure Lelouch makes it to the very end; until the Japanese and Japan itself were free. There'd be a big difference in Zero's Requiem this time.

I'd be in it.


	8. Chapter 8

"She seems weird to me."

"Oh, you probably just have to get to know her. She looks like a sweet person."

Everyone in class continued to chatter and whisper, but I paid it no real attention. I was used to being gossiped about. The only thing I gave consideration to was the sleeping Lelouch Vi Britannia. My seat was a row behind Lelouch's, so I had a perfect view of him. If I wasn't so mad at him right now, I'd be checking him out with an odd smirk on my face like I would when watching the anime, but all I could do was glare. And wow was I scowling hard. I literally felt like my expression would be stuck like that forever. I'd be an old granny, with this same face, including wrinkles.

Lelouch was sitting in his normal position; one elbow on the fancy desk, his balled up fist supporting his head from under his chin, and last but not least, his eyes, closed.

"Yeah, they say she's a bit delicate and weak too," said a girl from behind me.

I blinked.

_Were they even talking about me?_

"Mayu, does anybody sit in that chair next to you?"

I looked up to see a red haired girl, standing beside the teacher in the front of the room. I recognized her right away; Kallen. Keeping up with her fragile and shy act, she squeezed the straps of her bag, watching her feet only, and refusing much eye contact with anyone.

"Oh, no sir, nobody sits in this seat," I replied.

I accidentally caught sight of Lelouch, who was now wide awake. He seemed to be watching her doubtfully as she walked over to the chair next to me and sat down.

"Hi," I piped nicely when she got comfortable. "My name is Mayu, and welcome to Ashford Academy."

This wasn't something I usually did with new students, but I figured since we'd be Black Knights together later on, might as well win her over now and make things easier in the future.

"I'm Kallen," she glanced at me just for a few seconds and faintly smiled before turning her head to Lelouch and then to the teacher who began to talk once more.

I shifted my gaze back to the teacher as casually as I could muster up, clasping my hands together on the desk. After a quick pray that it seemed like I was paying attention, I began to think a little.

If I were to befriend Kallen, a soon to be Black Knight, then that could possibly boost my chances of getting in, right? I still was unsure, but it was likely that Lelouch was now more suspicious of me than when he was when I first woke up here.

I scowled at Lelouch who had gone back to napping.

_Things would be so much easier if I could only read his jigsaw mind!_

* * *

"Has anyone every told you that you were a cute girl?" I asked, slightly bumping my shoulder against the feeble girl's shoulder. Kallen's face turned a bright red color, and she made a face.

"N-no! Not really…" She glanced away from me in embarrassment.

I giggled. "Well you are! Not to sound like I'm hitting on you or something. But speaking of being hit on, have you seen any guys you thought were cute, maybe the famous Lelouch Lamperouge?"

"L-Lelouch?!"

Kallen and I were sitting in one the few fields of grass that sat in between the buildings of Ashford Academy. About a week or two had passed since the red head first started attending the school. It was a lunch break, and after chatting with her indoors, I asked if she had wanted to get some fresh air outside and she agreed.

We sat facing one another, and I had to admit, even with her forged personality, she still was fun to talk to once you get to know her.

"MAYU, MAYU, MAYU, you won't believe this!"

I looked in the direction the voice was coming from to see Nana running towards me. Her arms were flailing in the air, like a falling bird trying to catch flight. When she made it over to us, she bent over, breathing heavily.

"What is it, Nana?"

"Well…" she took notice of Kallen, and said hi, before continuing. "Well, you know how Suzaku Kururugi was thought to have killed Prince Clovis and how when Zero first appeared; he claimed to have done it?"

From the gleam in my friend's eye, I knew she was playing the role of an innocent yet concerned, Britannian student, so I went along with it.

"Yes?"

In the corner of my sight, I could spot an alarmed Kallen whose body was shivering.

"It's him!" Nana shrieked dramatically. "Suzaku has transferred here!"

Kallen nearly jumped. "What?"

"But that's not the worst of it…" As Nana said that, she looked me right in the eye and I knew something else had happened as well. There were two problems on our hands, but it was one she could not say in front of Kallen. She scooted out of our way and pointed behind her. "Guess who's with him."

Two people were walking, but I had to squint just to see them.

The taller one was a Japanese male with brown hair. Suzaku Kururugi.

And alongside him, was a shorter girl…Sachi?!

The pair was talking, being escorted by a teacher. They seemed so intrigued about their current conversation that they were disregarding the eyebrow raises and expressions students were giving them. I watched as Lloyd and Mrs. Cecile followed, having a chat themselves.

_Did Sachi actually know them?_

"Do you two know that girl or something?" Kallen inquired with a blank face.

Nana shrugged carelessly, still watching Sachi with a grimace. "You could say that."

* * *

I couldn't believe it. Sachi actually befriended Suzaku, along with Lloyd and Cecile? Why would she do that? As far as I was concerned, they were the enemy of Lelouch, of Japan, being part of the Britannian force and all. Sure, they meant no harm, but they still were the creators of that monster machine; Lancelot. And the pilot…

I shook my head and knitted my eyebrows as I started speed-walking towards the open gate of Ashford. Getting up, I had excused myself from Kallen and Nana, falsely claiming I had to use the bathroom. I'd leave before classes began. Skipping one class never hurt anybody.

I figured I had to earn Lelouch's trust and quickly so I'd be able to join the Black Knights. But before I do, I want to have knowledge of my Geass. And that's where Ryou would come in.

Someone grabbed my wrist from behind.

"Hey…!" I started.

"It's me," Nana said, making me turn to face her. "Where are you going? Why'd you leave?"

I yanked free from her grasp. "I have a bad feeling about Sachi being friends with Suzaku and those Britannians. What if she ends up being on their side, like Suzaku?"

Nana seemed to consider it for a second, but then retorted, "She'd never do that."

"Don't be so sure," I murmured. "Look, I have to learn more about my Geass and what's to come. Now that Suzaku is here, things are about to go down. It's essential that I go find Ryou."

"You mean he's not with you?"

"No, but I plan to bring him back here…" I responded.

Nana peeked over her shoulder, around, and then leaned forward. "And then what? Hide him in our room like Lelouch does with C.C?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure yet, but that's a possibility. It would be smart to always have at least an idea of where he is if I ever need him."

My friend nodded. "Okay, be quick." She then turned and started for the Academy again, and I continued to walk to the entrance.

Once I got past the gate, I was running.

_Please, _I begged. _Please, be there, Ryou._

* * *

**Thanks for the support I've gotten so far! This may be my longest fanfiction yet, and I hope the numbers of chapters won't make someone not want to read it .-.**

**Tamaki: You suck at writing anyway!**

**Me: Shut up. You're just mad cause I haven't used you yet.**

**Anyway, thanks again!**


	9. Chapter 9

After getting lost a few times, I finally found the same alley where Ryou and I had officially met, and where I had obtained my own Geass. I causally peeked around, making sure nobody was looking, and slipped into the alleyway. It was a lot less daunting and dimmer than I remembered it, but that was probably because it was lighter outside this time.

"Ryou," I called out, cupping my hands around my mouth. "Ryou?"

I kept at this for about two minutes before my arms dropped to my sides again and I sighed. This was the only place I was certain he would be, so what would I do now? I didn't know where to start, didn't know where to search. "…Ryou! Please."

"I sense a girl named Mayu is calling my name!"

"AH!"

Startled out my skin, I spun around to see Ryou standing there, his arms crossed and a big, obnoxious smile on his face. Obviously, he was enjoying himself. "Did I scare you?"

I quickly shook my head. "No! And where the hell were you? I came here about four minutes ago and you weren't anywhere to be found! I had no idea where else to look and I thought I'd never find you!"

Ryou waved me off. "I could find you if I wanted to." He then shrugged. "Besides, you found me now, didn't you? So what has you worried enough that you had to come looking for me?"

"It's my Geass. I want to know what my power is. Can't you tell me?"

The blond blinked at me. "I'm guessing you have forgotten, so I'll repeat it again. Everyone's power is different. I can't tell you because I don't know myself; you'll have to figure it out yourself by actually using it."

After a bit of pondering, I came to the realization and nodded. "You're right. I'll try. Let's go." I walked over to Ryou and grabbed his wrist, starting to pull him along towards the way I came.

"What? Go where?" He asked.

"Back to Ashford," I replied. When I said this, he stopped me, beginning to resist.

"Why?"

I glanced back at him firmly. "Ryou, I'm not going to go through this having to find you every time I need you thing. We're partners now, you gave me power, and now you're stuck with me. And anyway, I am just a 16 year old girl…I'm going to need you a lot. So there."

Ryou grinned. "You're going to what…?"

"I know you heard me…" I whispered.

"Hmm?" He leaned close to me, raising his eyebrows teasingly. "What was that?"

Through gritted teeth, I murmured, "I said I'm going to need you a lot."

The immortal's smile grew irritatingly large, and this time he took the lead, dragging me behind him as he pointed forward. "To Ashford Academy!"

While I struggled to keep up with the fast-paced Ryou, despite how serious I meant to be, I couldn't help but giggle just a little.

* * *

Ryou and I were now on Ashford Campus grounds, and surprisingly, students were just hanging around outside. That wasn't right though, if I had the correct time, they should have been in class.

We kept from going into much of the crowd, circling around the edges to keep from getting noticed. Cutting through would have been quicker, but with Ryou not in an Ashford Uniform, he would stand out like a sore thumb. We passed by Kallen who waved at me in greeting, I did the same back as normally as I could possibly make it, but I knew she was curious about the blond guy next to me.

Luckily, after a while, we bumped into Nana, just the person I wanted to see.

She ogled Ryou. "Is that him?"

I nodded. "Yep, this is him! Ryou, this is Nana; Nana, this is-"

"Ryou!" Nana squeaked, grappling him into a bear hug which caused him to stiffen awkwardly and look at me in a pleading way. "I'm Mayu's best friend and I've heard so much about you like how you gave Mayu her Geass, and that you rescued her from a bias Britannian man!"

"Lower your voice, Nana!" I scolded. "Do you want someone to hear you?"

My friend released Ryou and gestured zipping her mouth, locking it with a key, and putting it in her pocket. "Sorry…" she whispered.

"It's fine, but-"

"Hey, you three!" A man's voice called.

We all turned to see a teacher strolling towards us, and he didn't look very happy.

"Yes, sir?" Nana inquired innocently.

The man didn't say anything until he got to us, and when he did, he glared at Nana, then me, and stopped on Ryou. "Who are you? Where's your uniform?"

"Well, sir, you see, this is my…" I faded off, and it made my lie very obvious. "…my brother. He just transferred here so he doesn't have his uniform yet."

The teacher did not seem to buy that. He crudely eyed Ryou and I both, switching between him and I. "Brother and sister? You two don't show much of a resemblance."

"She just calls me her brother, sir," Ryou said without any pauses or stutters. "We are really stepsiblings, but we prefer to say sister or brother instead of stepbrother or stepsister."

"Still seems shady to me," the teacher claimed accusingly.

I took a deep breath and said, "Shady? A teacher should be able to trust their students. There's no reason for us to lie to you, so you should trust us."

There was a long pause. Nobody said anything after that. It was just Nana, Ryou and I, staring at the older man, waiting for an answer. A minute went by.

The teacher then blinked, and he faced me and smiled. "You're absolutely right. A teacher…should trust their students. What was I thinking, accusing you of sneaking boys onto campus? I apologize, Mayu." He then turned on his heel and walked away, not saying another word.

Nana and Ryou gaped at me.

"What?"

The blond smirked. "I think you just used your Geass."

My jaw dropped. "I did?"

"Didn't you see how fast he changed his mind? Of course you did! That was awesome!" Nana exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air and giving me a high five. "How did you do it?"

"I don't even know," I looked at Ryou. "So?"

"I suppose it's the power of absolute trust. You can get anyone to think you trustworthy."

Nana elbowed me playfully. "So you could be one badass spy!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" I gave my friend a slight push to calm her down. "Now, we have to get Ryou a uniform and get him to our dorm without being suspicious… or Lelouch seeing him."

"And enroll him?" Nana asked.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you see C.C taking classes?"

"No…"

"There's your answer."

* * *

"You need to stop pushing me."

When Ryou said that, I only pushed him harder, forcing him to walk ahead of me. "And you need to be quiet. You have no idea how unlikely I'll be able to join the Black Knights if Lelouch spots you."

We both had been walking through the halls of the dorms as casually as we could until I heard the sound of two girls chatting. They probably were no threat to us, but I didn't want gossip to start going around and possibly reach Lelouch. As soon as I knew they were close, I shoved Ryou in front of me and began pushing him from behind. No words could explain how epic I felt then.

Until Sachi came along.

I had made it to Nana and I's dorm just in time luckily, so I opened the door, jostled Ryou in and closed it again. Standing there and pressing my back against the door.

Sachi was making her way down the hall in her new Ashford uniform, holding a phone close to her ear. She caught sight of me, her eyes widening, and ended the conversation with a, "I'll be there in a few," and hung up. "Mayu, is that you?" She asked almost happily, inching towards me.

I smiled at her. "Yes, it's me."

The girl ran up to me and hugged me tightly. "I was hoping you and Nana were here, too! Isn't this amazing? I can't believe we're…here! It's great! I met Suzaku and…" she trailed off. "Speaking of Nana…is she with you? Is she here at Ashford?"

"Yeah, she's here."

"Is she in that dorm you're guarding?"

I nodded, pressing myself even closer to the door. "She's…uh…changing. There's a special occasion coming up and she's trying stuff on…asked me to guard the door."

Sachi narrowed her eyes. "Can't you just lock it?"

"Well…"

Fortunately, the bell rang and Sachi glanced down at her watch, which was one she didn't have on before. First, a phone and now, a watch. Where was she getting all this stuff from?

"I-I have to go!" She abruptly said, starting to run down the hall.

"Where are you going?" I shouted.

She looked over her shoulder at me as she ran, replying back, "Practice! Lloyd, Ms. Cecile and Suzaku are teaching me how to fight with Knightmares Frames, isn't that cool?! I just may be an Honorary Britannian too!"

She was pretty much out of my sight now and I felt my face scrunch up angrily, balling my fists. So I was right. Sachi has allowed her fascination in Suzaku to lead her down the wrong path. Lelouch was right; Suzaku wasn't doing anything for the Japanese by fighting alongside the Britannians and neither would Sachi. They'd only get in the way of the Black Knights.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

I looked up to see Nana standing in front of me. She had a male Ashford uniform in one hand.

I didn't say anything to her, so she just offered me the clothes with a smile. "Milly said she promised she would keep Ryou a secret."


	10. Chapter 10

Nana and I sat on our beds in the dorm while Ryou was in the bathroom, changing into his uniform. The door was slightly cracked so we could still have a conversation. We had a lot to talk about.

"So when can we confront Lelouch about joining the Black Knights?" Nana asked, falling back onto her bed and looking at me sideways. "I still think we're too young and unable to be fighting in a war…but you're my best friend, Mayu. So if you plan to join, then I'll follow behind."

Just as I smiled, Ryou heaved a sigh from the bathroom. "I hate uniforms. But you can't say too much to Lelouch just yet. If you two haven't noticed; things from the anime are being repeated, but with slight changes due to you three unbalancing the scales. The Black Knights are only a resistance group and the name is still unknown, even to Zero who came up with it."

I gawked. "So that means the Black Knights won't be the Black Knights until the night that Japanese group hold innocent Britannians hostage?"

"Exactly," Ryou confirmed. "Unless the presence of you, Nana and Sachi ruin it. Who knows."

Nana flipped over from her back to her stomach. "Couldn't we tell Milly, Shirley and Nina not to go on that day so then they're not caught up in the hostage crisis?"

"No, you absolutely can't do that," Ryou retorted. "Some things are meant to happen and most of the time, you can't reverse it even if you tried. Don't say anything to any of them."

The firmness in his voice surprised me. He must have been serious. So did that mean that I also could not mess with that fact that Lelouch would accidentally use his Geass on Euphemia and she'd massacre millions of Japanese people?

Nana sat up abruptly, jumping from the bed. "That reminds me! I promised I'd help with Student Council business to keep the papers from stacking!"

"Working now? But usually you guys handle that during the day."

"Well, Milly, Shirley and Nina are going to visit the…oh…" Nana bit her lip and grimaced.

I leaped up, shouting, "ALREADY?!"

My outburst must have startled Ryou because there was a sound of something hitting the wall coming from the bathroom, followed by a, "Shit!" and then a, "I'm okay!"

Ignoring poor Ryou, I started pacing. "This is happening way too fast! I'm not even part of the resistance group yet! Lelouch is still suspicious of me! This is-" I threw my arms up, irritated. "UGH!"

Nana raised her hands and shushed me. "There, there, little Mayu, everything will be alright. We have a few days to get things straightened out. We'll figure it out tomorrow." She looked up at the clock that sat on the nightstand beside her bed. "And I need to get going! Sorry, if I return late!" With that, she took off out the door, slamming it closed behind her.

I crossed my arms and pouted.

Things seemed to get difficult every day.

"Damn it," Ryou muttered loudly.

"What's wrong?"

He peeked his head out of the bathroom, scowling. "I left my uniform shirt on your bed."

I turned around and spotted it lying on my pillow, looking lonely without the pants. "I see it," I said, walking over and grabbing it. "Could I ask you something?" I inquired, handing him the shirt.

"Sure," he replied as he began to put the uniform on, moving past me.

My gaze had followed him the whole time and at the last second, I caught something. On Ryou's back, was a small scar. It ran down about an inch or two, and it appeared to be painful.

The question I wanted to ask him was different, but it ended up being about that scar. "Where did you get that scar on your back from?"

Ryou turned to look at me, stone faced. "I had forgotten about that…I didn't mean for you to see it."

"Tell me," I probed.

The blond sighed and sat down on my bed, motioning for me to join him. "Don't tell anybody else; and that goes for Nana, too. It's a bit personal."

I nodded and sat down beside him, putting a hand over my heart. "Cross my heart, hope to die, if I lie, stick a thousand needles in my eye." I then gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned.

"Well that's a bit violent..." Ryou's gaze fell down to the floor as he began. "Alright, well when I was young…and not immortal, my home was burned down mysteriously, and my entire family went down with it. I was the only survivor and I was alone. With most of my relatives hating me and my family, nobody wanted to take me in."

"Why did none of them want to take you? They're your relatives."

Ryou shrugged. "Yeah, but they were less fortunate than my family, so they despised us. Anyway, luckily, I was adopted by another rich family, but only as a servant." He paused, appearing to not want to continue. "…The parents were greedy, just like mine, but they're attitudes were disgusting and vile. There were many other servants too, and when we did things wrong, they would hit us. Still, I thought it was better than using the whip that they had sitting there in their living room. If it weren't for their daughter, I might of ran away and died out on my own."

My lips formed into a smirk. "They had a daughter, eh? Was she cute? Did you like her?"

Ryou smiled as if good memories were flowing back. "I don't remember exactly what she looked like, but I know her hair was the same color as yours. And she was always cheery and sweet, so yes, you could say I did. She was the complete opposite of her parents…" He trailed off, frowning.

"Are you alright?" I asked. "If you don't want to tell me anymore, you don't have-"

"It's okay," Ryou said, cutting me off. "I still haven't explained about my scar yet. Anyway, the parent's daughter would get depressed sometimes. Her parents were always fighting, always yelling at one another, and throwing things. She didn't like it at all. When nights were like that, I'd sneak in her room and let her vent to me about how she felt. I'd comfort her. But one night, I found her…dead."

My eyes widened. "She committed…?"

Ryou nodded, "Yes, she committed suicide. I guess she couldn't handle it anymore. And unfortunately for me, I was there at the wrong time. Her mother walked in and became hysterical, claiming that I was a murderous monster, that I killed her daughter because I envied their wealth. With their daughter gone, I decided to just run. The mother had grabbed that whip…and when I tried running past her, she caught me in the back." Ryou waited as if he were expecting me to say something, but went on when I didn't. "Both the parents were giving chase and with their mansion so big, I managed to lose them and escape. But before I left, another servant, a man gave me money and asked me if I was planning on attempting to survive despite being alone…and…"

"And what? AND WHAT? What did you reply back?" I shrieked.

"I don't remember anything after that," Ryou murmured.

Glowering, I gave him a smack on the shoulder. "Just when it was getting good, too! Thanks for leaving a sister hanging. Do you think that servant was the one who passed the power of Geass down to you?"

"I'm positive he did…"

* * *

"Alright, class dismissed."

Everyone started getting up, making their way over to friends or running out the door in excitement that class was over. I sat there, sluggishly closed my history book, staring at Lelouch, who was once again, sleeping. Not much of a shocker there.

Shirley strolled over to him. "Lulu, I was wondering if you wanted to… Lulu? HEY, LELOUCH!" She shouted, slamming her hands down on his table.

The raven haired boy didn't seem startled at all as he opened his eyes and glanced up at Shirley. "Oh…was I asleep? I'm sorry, Shirley," he said.

I shook my head in revulsion.

"Sometimes I wonder what it is you do at night. Are you nocturnal or something, Lulu?"

Lelouch beamed. "I guess you could say that."

Next to me, Kallen observed the Britannian Prince, her eyes narrowing. I turned to face her. "Kallen?"

The girl relaxed her expression and looked at me. "Oh, Mayu, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind talking in private…I need to ask you something very important."

Kallen blinked. "I don't see why not…"

* * *

**Two chapter updates in a day! I think I deserve a medal. Or at least some reviews :D I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far because I'm enjoying writing it **


	11. Chapter 11

Kallen and I stood in the empty hallways of Ashford during the lunch period, and we both were staring at each other, saying nothing. I had told her that I knew that she was part of Zero's resistance group, that she had been driving the truck during Suzaku's rescuing.

The red headed girl blinked. "I'm not sure what you're talking about…" she babbled, glancing left and right as if she were worried somebody would overhear us.

I rolled my eyes, giving her a grin. "It's too late for that."

Kallen began to glare at me, suddenly becoming solemn. "Then tell me how you know this."

"I have my sources," I replied mockingly. "You don't need to be wary of me; I'm on your side. I actually pulled you aside to tell you not to be so shocked if you see me next time the team meets up. I'm going to make sure Zero makes me a member."

"How…" she trailed off and I turned to walk my own way. "Wait, how are you going to…? Do you even know where Zero is?"

I peered over my shoulder. "At this moment, yes I do."

* * *

"I really don't like this uniform," Ryou protested dramatically as Nana and I dragged him towards Lelouch's dorm. "It's too dull for my personality!"

Nana gave Ryou a firm tug, scowling at him before looking at me. "So, you really think it'll work to just march in his territory, declare that he's Zero and that he can't fool us, and then he'll let us join?"

"Well…" I tightened my grip on the resisting Ryou's sleeve. "No, not really," I muttered dryly.

My friend gaped at me. "He's just going to use Geass on us then!"

"Actually, Mayu is safe because he's already used it on her," Ryou remarked.

"What about me!" Nana exclaimed. "I don't want to be a victim of Geass!"

Ahead of us, Lelouch's dorm was just only but a couple of feet away.

I gave Nana a reassuring smile. "He won't use it, I promise."

Ryou mocked my beam. "Said the girl who he used it on."

"Shut up."

The immortal finally decided to be quiet after I said this, and we continued towards the dorm in total silence. When we climbed the stairs and reached the door, Nana gave it a double knock. She glanced up at Ryou and scowled. "At least smile, will you?" She asked.

He narrowed his eyes comically before showing off his best grin, flashing his teeth.

At the sound of the door knob turning, we all faced forward and tried to appear like welcoming citizens, but we were not expecting to see the one who opened the door.

Nana and I both widened our eyes in unity at the carelessness of C.C. The partner of Zero was eating a slice of pizza, looking comfortable in her under garments. She wolfed down the remaining of the pizza before giving us her full consideration. "If you're looking for Lelouch or Nunnally, they're not-" She stopped. Literally, froze, just gaping at us; or not at us exactly, but at the blond beside us.

"It's you," C.C said with scornfulness. "What are you doing here?"

I turned to Ryou. "You know her?"

He didn't address my question. "I could ask you the same thing, witch" he muttered disdainfully to C.C.

In confusion, I glanced at Nana who only shrugged in response. I didn't know why I thought she'd have an answer, but I was that desperate. My immortal partner knew Lelouch's partner? From where, the past? And why did they seem to have a cold reaction towards one another. What was going on?!

C.C sneered, but waved off Ryou, giving her courtesy to Nana and I. "I'm sorry, there seems to be a big, blond rat that keeps irritating me," she retorted; her eyes flickering at Ryou. "What is it you two are here for?"

"We're here to talk to Lelouch." Nana said assertively. "We know that he's Zero."

At the mention of his name, C.C's eyes grew wide with suspicion, and she held open the door to us. "Come inside and wait for him, he should be here soon."

We shared expressions before deciding that going in wouldn't be bad, despite Ryou's obvious hesitation. He may not like C.C, but she's one of the good guys, so she wasn't not to be trusted.

* * *

Ryou, Nana and I all sat on the one couch of the living room, a brown table in front of us. C.C had told us she'd be right back, leaving the room, so we just waited there in silence.

There was not much any of us wanted to say to the others in fear C.C would hear us. Plus, Ryou didn't seem to be very happy that we had chosen to trust the immortal female.

Speaking of her, when she returned, she stood there for a few seconds, not murmuring a word to us. She then pulled out a pistol from behind her back, pointing it at us. "Alright, you all have a minute to tell me how it is you know of Zero's identity." She shifted the aim at me. "You go first."

Despite the fear I was feeling inside, I tried to remain calm. "You're going to shoot, no matter what I say, aren't you?"

C.C didn't answer, instead, she just moved to point at Ryou. "Which one is yours?" She inquired.

Ryou ignored her, suddenly tilting his head in the direction of the door. C.C, Nana and I followed, and we all held our breath as the door opened up to reveal, Lelouch, Nunnally, and Sayoko standing there.

The Britannian prince, glared at C.C before raising his index finger to his lips.

Nunnally frowned from her wheelchair. "Is something wrong, Lelouch?"

Sayoko looked at the raven-haired boy who replied with, "no, of course not, but I just realized I forgot some papers in the student council room, would you and Sayoko go get them for me?"

His sister bit her bottom lip. "Oh, okay…"

The maid took hold of the bars on Nunnally's wheelchair and rolled her back out the room. Everyone remained quiet until Lelouch opened his mouth. "C.C, what the hell are you doing?"

His partner loosened her grip on the gun, dropping it to her side. "They know."

Lelouch observed us, and when his gaze landed on me, he smirked. "I see." He walked over to C.C and took the pistol from her hand. "There's no need for violence. So tell me how you all know."

Nana shook her head. "That's not important! We just want to be a part of Zero's team. We want to help the Japanese. We want to obliterate Britannia, is that TOO HARD TO UNDERSTAND?"

The atmosphere became a little heated and hushed after Nana's snap, but the ex-prince kept cool.

"Give me a good, significant reason why I should." Lelouch countered. "You three may just cause me trouble."

"But think about it," I pleaded. "Adding us will give you more pawns to play with, a bigger force…plus…we have him," I gestured to Ryou.

C.C rolled her eyes as Lelouch began to consider. "What about him?" He asked cynically.

"He's just like C.C, an immortal," I answered. "He also gave me the power of the kings, just like she did to you."

"So you have a Geass as well?" Lelouch questioned.

I nodded, "The power to gain absolute trust from anyone."

"Why don't you just use it on me to make me trust you then?"

"What fun would that be?" I contradicted with a smile.

The corners of the Britannian boy's lips rose into a smile, too, and when he looked at C.C with that same expression, the immortal sighed.

* * *

It had been only two days since Lelouch had given us the okay for joining the soon to be Black Knights, and boy, was I blissful. I happily ordered papers for the student council while humming the song Stories by Hitomi, ignoring the startled looks I was getting. Nana, Lelouch, Rivalz, and Suzaku all either observed me or switched between glancing at me and working.

"Someone seems content?" Rivalz commented, raising his eyebrows at me.

Nana tittered. "She's mostly always content."

Suzaku pushed a stack of papers to the side. "Is that so? It must be nice to always feel happy."

I smiled at him. "Well, I'm not…always…by the way, where is Milly, Shirley and Nina? I thought they'd be here helping us?"

Rivalz clicked his pen repeatedly. "Ah, probably getting ready. They're going on a trip to some place near the Kawaguchi Lake." He rested his face on the table. "While we'll be here doing work."

At the moment, Nana and I had the same bad idea come to our heads and in unison, we looked at each other. Ryou was right about everything repeating itself. Our friends would be taken hostage by the Japanese Liberation Front…tonight.

* * *

**I'm sorry this is already at 11 chapters . I suppose that's a lot for a fanfiction so I'll try to shorten up this to get to the end!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, guys, my phone is charged on 69% teehee! Alright, back to business. And by the way, I'd like to thank Cookielova for the awesome review. You're completely right, so I'll take your great advice! Thanks so much :D Himeno: I know right! I was surprised too! xD and Aliceelric7: The story would follow you anywhere as well :3 now back to the story.**

* * *

"Where do you want this?"

"Just put it over there, by the driver's seat."

"Hey, what about these boxes over here?"

The whole team who were soon to be the Black Knights seemed extremely calm even though they were aware of the Japanese Liberation Front and the hostage crisis that was going on now. They rummaged through each box, trying to decide where it would be best to put them depending on what was inside. I stood there and watched until Kallen, who had been unpacking close to Zero's personal headquarters, motioned me over. As I walked, I passed by Ohgi who congratulated me on becoming a new member of the group. I nodded and smiled, telling him that I was glad to be onboard.

When I got over to Kallen, I crouched beside her.

"I guess you really meant what you said, huh?" She said, continuing to unpack.

"Sure did," I replied, looking left and right. "So have you seen Nana?"

It wasn't that I actually needed to tell Nana anything in particular, but I didn't want to be around the redhead for too long in fear that she'd ask me how I got in contact with Zero. As far as I was concerned, she's still unaware that Zero is a school boy who goes to the same academy as her, and Ryou probably wouldn't be very happy if I messed with Kallen's knowledge. And besides, if she found out, I have a bad feeling that the smooth storyline would go off balance.

Kallen looked up from the box she had been searching through. "Yeah, she's with Zero. Just follow me." She stood up and I jumped to my feet to follow her down the hall. Their hideout van was definitely much larger than it appeared. We reached an opened door which light shined from inside. The sound of a news reporter speaking got louder as we got closer.

Kallen and I poked our heads inside to see Zero and Nana who were intently watching a news report from a laptop. My friend had been the first to notice us and she turned and greeted us.

"Oh, hey, you two," she said warmly.

"If the terrorists-"

Zero cut off the reporter by pausing the video, but he didn't look away from the screen.

"So what do you think is going to happen to the hostages, Zero?" Nana asked.

Our leader continued to calmly stare at the screen before answering, "Eventually, they'll be no reason for the Japanese Liberation to keep those Britannians alive."

In the corner of my eye, I caught Kallen glance down at the floor. Despite them being Britannians, she must not want them to be killed like that.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" I inquired hastily. "We can't just let them die even if the Japanese Liberation is on the side of Japan."

"Just relax, Mayu." Zero said. "We'll figure something out."

Just then Ohgi strolled into the room, holding a box full of the black uniforms that would be the start of the Black Knights. Nana gave me an excited expression.

"Hey, Zero, I found these. Should I hand them out to everyone?" Kallen leaned forward to peek in the box as Ohgi went on. "I mean as far as gear goes, it looks pretty hip, but we're just a resistance group."

I sighed. _Here we go, _I thought. _And cue Lelouch's moment to shine._

Zero abruptly spun around to face us, which startled only Ohgi and Kallen. "Wrong. We're not a resistance group, is that clear?" He retorted.

The older man blinked. "Well then, what are we?"

I couldn't help but smile as Zero spoke one of my favorite Code Geass quotes. "What we are, what we're trying to be, are Knights for Justice."

* * *

Zero stood on top of the van as it drove towards the waiting Princess Cornelia, her soldiers, and the Kawaguchi Lake convention hotel where our friends were being held hostage. In front, Ohgi, Kallen, Tamaki, and the others sat, watching intently and speaking among themselves. They were muttering about how shady Zero seemed, and although Kallen agreed, she told them that he was to be trusted for now. On the second floor of the van, Nana and I were in Zero's headquarters with the laptop turned on. The screen showed a male and female immortal, Ryou and C.C, in real time video chat.

Nana shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "This is really nerve-wracking and my head hurts really badly!"

"Did you think this would be fun?" C.C asked sketchily, leaning closer to the screen.

My friend shook her head. "No, not really…" she then turned to face me. "Do you think we should warn Lelouch that they're going to send the Lancelot to destroy the hotel's structures?"

Ryou yelped, threw himself on top of C.C and covered her ears playfully. "Nana, don't you even think about it! If you tell him that, I'll kill you."

"Oh…yeah…" she murmured. "He makes it out anyway…right?"

C.C shoved Ryou away, and blinked at us. "Even if that were true, how would you know that before it occurred?"

The blond tried to tackle her. "They were just kidding! Right, Mayu?" There was a pause. "Mayu?"

Startled, I nearly jumped from my seat. "Oh! Uh, kidding about what exactly?"

"About how we know the future," Nana said, elbowing my side.

I raised an eyebrow. "But…we do know about the future? …I'm confused!"

From the laptop screen, I saw Ryou sigh and hang his head. "And you've said too much now."

C.C's eyes were suddenly lit up with interest. "So you two can see the future? How is that so?"

With the upset feeling I had in my stomach, I didn't feel like having to explain this with C.C. And glancing over at Nana whose face was super pale, I assumed that she didn't either. Despite that we knew we were no danger, that this mission would be a success as long as we didn't mess around, and Lelouch and our friends would be alright…why did I feel so terrible?

At first, I was ready to kick some butt and be as cool as an anime character, but now, all I wanted to do was run to the bathroom and puke until I couldn't anymore. And maybe Nana felt the same. It made me wonder exactly how Sachi was holding up, too.

Ryou was staring at us just as hard as C.C was, and soon he broke the silence. "You two don't look very good, are you okay?"

C.C didn't take her eyes off us, but replied, "They're probably just uneasy." She called both of us by our names for the first time, and it got our attention. "How about we make a deal? There's no backing out of this now, you've both chosen this. So if you stay and tell me about how you can see the future, I'll tell you the whole mystery about Ryou and me."

The blond immortal shrieked. "WHAT?"

Nana peered at me, a glint in her eyes that were now optimistic and confident instead of edgy. I knew she wanted to find out about Ryou and C.C's backstory just as much as I did, so I put on a cheerful expression and caught eyes with C.C. "you have yourself a deal!'

Ryou's face was red now and he tugged on the immortal female's hair who was just smirking. "You can't be serious! That is a personal, kind of embarrassing story! YOU CAN'T."

C.C stopped beaming, putting on her solemn face and ignoring the blond beside her. "Alright, good, but you two have to keep your end of the bargain, until the very end."

* * *

"Britannians," Zero called from the boat we floated on. "Fear not. I have saved all the hostages from inside the hotel. I will return them to you now."

Beside him, cloaked in darkness, attired in our uniforms, we stood in a line. I knew the cameras couldn't see us yet, but that didn't stop me from shivering. We were now being revealed to the world.

The hostages in the little boats close by were staring at us, or maybe, more at Zero. Still, it was more attention than I wanted at the moment. Next to me, Nana was holding her breath, breathing deeply through her nose.

After what had felt like the longest wait in history, lights flashed on, and illuminated Zero's entire team. All of us had black masks on, making it difficult to see our faces and for that I was glad. Everything had gone cold, and my skin was probably paler than Nana's was earlier.

"People of the world!" Zero declared. "Fear us, and seek us out! We are the Black Knights! We are allies of those who are unarmed whether they be Elevens, or Britannians. The act of the Japan Liberation Front was cowardly, taking Britannian civilians as hostages and murdering them viciously; an act with no meaning. And for that, they have been punished. The same goes for Prince Clovis for he ordered the slaughter of unarmed Elevens. Atrocities like that cannot be ignored, thus he was punished by me. I do not refuse to fight; nonetheless, I will never allow the weak to be bullied by the strong."

Inside me, the feeling of fear began to subdue. Oh how I loved this part of the anime!

"The only ones who can shoot are those prepared to be shot by others. When the powerless are attacked by the powerful, we shall reappear; no matter the strength of our enemy. You with power, fear me! You without power, seek me! For we, the Black Knights, will be the judges of the world!"

* * *

Ryou turned the TV off and glanced back at C.C. "Judges of the world, huh? Don't you think that's pushing it a little too much?"

The immortal witch shrugged. "Leave it to Lelouch to always go all out." She gave him a reassuring smile. "Besides, there's no need to worry, he's smart and he's got the Black Knights."

"Yeah, the Black Knights who don't fully trust him yet and could turn on him anytime."

C.C rolled her eyes. "You still think too much into things like you did back when I met you. They'll trust him with time, and with the power of the kings, he'll go far, believe me."

The blond observed her with narrowed eyes. "It's not that I don't think he won't go far. I'm just a bit worried about Mayu and Nana. I doubt they'll be up for what's to come later on."

"I suppose that'll be their problem," C.C said bluntly. "They've dug their holes themselves and the holes are pretty deep, too deep for us to pull them out now so they have to climb up alone. Sure, we can hold the rope, but we can't do any more than that. We're not their guardians."

Ryou didn't say a word of response.

_Not their guardians?_


	13. Chapter 13

Nana propelled forward when Lelouch opened the door that led to the roof of one of Ashford's many buildings. I almost yelped as she nearly threw herself over the railing.

"Nana!" I cried, rushing over to her and grabbing her sleeve. "Don't do that; are you insane in the head?"

"Well, my mom did say she dropped me straight on my noggin when I was a baby, so maybe!" She giggled, and peeked down below. "But I mean, look at this view! It's awesome!"

The view was awesome. I could see everyone chatting and talking to their friends during the free time. Looking up, the sky was clear blue, with no clouds. There was the fresh smell of the outside with a slight breeze that wasn't too little or too much, but just right.

From behind us, I heard C.C ask, "Are they always like that?" And Ryou answered with, "no, actually they're usually very solemn." But with the sarcastic tone that came out, it ruined the mood, making me turn around and give him an irritated squint.

Lelouch closed the door behind him and crossed his arms, pressing his back against it. "We're not here to look at the view or to goof around. We need to talk and get some things clear." His gaze went to me. "I'll start with you, Mayu."

I mentally prepared my mind, waiting peevishly for the next words to leave his mouth. How much would I have to reveal now? What things could I still hide and what would I have to spill out?

"You knew about C.C the first day we met…how was that possible?" Lelouch inquired.

Suddenly feeling nervous, I glanced at Nana who shook her head slowly. The raven haired boy didn't notice her movement, but was lying really the smart thing to do? Would the truth cost us our positions as Black Knights? No, would Lelouch even believe the actual truth? It's not everyday someone tells you that you're from an anime and that they got sucked into it by accident, trying to bring you to life using some random spell in a rusty, old witchcraft book.

Unfortunately, just as I was about to lie, the truth slipped off my tongue.

* * *

My eyes snapped open, and in the darkness, I blinked, waiting for the adjustments to the dark. When my vision relaxed, I could just barely make out Nana snoozing in her bed from across the room. On the nightstand close by, a digital clock sat and in blue letters read: 1:07. So the whole scene on the roof had just been a dream. Lelouch still didn't know the truth about my friends and I. Yawning, I scooted over a bit to feel something warm and soft brush up against my arm. What in the world?

When I turned over to look, it took everything in my power not to scream out loud. Because I was so alarmed, I almost fell out of the bed, but fortunately, I appeased myself down before that happened. Laying down beside me, was the blond immortal, Ryou. From what I could see in the dim room, he was slumbering like a little baby, his body curled up. If only I could take a picture of this!

Suddenly, my eyes widened at the fact that there was a boy in my bed. Ms. Koi always told me that'd she'd kill me if she ever caught a boy in my room, especially in my bed. I smiled to myself at those memories, but it quickly vanished. I wasn't in that world anymore. I wasn't a normal school girl anymore either. I was a Black Knight in a war for a better world.

I peered over at Nana who shifted to another position. That feeling we had during the Hotel Crisis…it was real so had my friend been right all along? Had I been too naïve about this whole thing?

Still…

I turned to look at Ryou again. Perhaps we could pull this off with Ryou, right? Would we let him down if we quit now? And what about the Geass he gave me? That wasn't for nothing…

* * *

The next day, I was running through the halls full speed during passing periods. Lelouch wasn't in my previous class so I had no idea where he was, but I needed to find him.

Unfortunately for me, I bumped into a little problem on the way. And that problem was Japanese with curly, brown hair, emerald green eyes, and an, "I don't take no for an answer," attitude. Also, I literally bumped into this problem.

I felt my face and my entire body slam right into something very…muscular and tall. The sudden impact sent me backwards and I landed on my butt. My head throbbing, I reached up to rub it.

"I'm really sorry!" I exclaimed sheepishly, looking up. "I'm just- Suzaku?"

The Japanese boy raised an eyebrow, but smiled, extending out a hand to me. "You know my name? I don't think we've met, but I guess I'm already a bit scandalous at this school. Here, let me help you up. It's not your fault. I should've been looking where I was going too."

I reached for his hand and grabbed it. "Oh! Uh, no! It's fine, really!" Without much effort, he pulled me to my feet and I hastily yanked away from his grasp. "I-I'm Mayu. It's not that you're scandalous or infamous, I just know you from…"

"When I was accused of murdering Prince Clovis, right?" He asked.

"No! That's not it at all!" I felt the odd looks we were both getting from other students and I did not like it one bit. It was either because we were one weird pair of "friends" or my awkwardly pitched voice. It wasn't my fault that it did that when I got nervous or felt overwhelmed.

"Listen," I said. "I've actually got to run, Suzaku, because, um, student council meeting! So, catch you later!" My attempt to get past him was stopped when the Lancelot pilot grabbed my wrist. I felt myself get dragged back, and he turned to face me.

"Mayu, you know, Sachi is a bit worried that you and Nana don't want to speak to her anymore," Suzaku muttered quietly. "She seems to be getting worse with each day you both pretend she isn't there."

I tried to pull free, but it didn't work so I addressed him. "We're not ignoring her on purpose. If anything, she's the one pretending. She never tries to talk to us."

"And neither do you or Nana." He countered.

I didn't reply that time, hoping if I just stood there in silence, he'd let me go.

Suzaku loosened his grip. "Do me a favor and talk to Sachi. At least once so you can clear things up with her." Looking back at him, I could tell how much he wanted me to do that. What kind of relationship had he and Sachi grown in the time that we've been here?

I nodded and he released me. Instead of running, I just walked. And as I did, I could feel still his eyes on me. It was as if he were debating on whether or not he thought I would actually talk to her. I wasn't planning on it. Sachi was on the opposite side. It made no sense to be friends with the enemy; that would only make things more difficult on the battlefield than it has to be. It was unnecessary.

I didn't pay much attention to the people around me until I passed by a group of three girls. There were two taller females, and strolling beside them was the shorter, Sachi. She appeared out of place standing next to them. Not only was their stature different, but so was the hair length and color. Both of the girls had longer, brighter hair than Sachi's dark color, and if anyone stared hard enough, they could probably assume that she wasn't Britannian like the two girls with her.

Sachi and I accidentally caught each other's gazes and I quickly looked away, picking up my pace.

"Mayu?" Sachi called, causing both the girls to freeze and turn to see what was going on. I pretended not to hear her and kept my eyes to the ground.

Unluckily for me, she told her new friends that she'd catch them later and scampered to get to me. I didn't want to seem like I was purposely avoiding her, so I continued to walk causally.

"Hey, Mayu," Sachi said, starting to move in sync with me. "W-we haven't spoken in a while, huh? I almost thought you and Nana were angry because I've befriended Suzaku."

My shoulders heaved into a shrug. "No, of course not, that's just…stupid."

For a minute, Sachi's face seemed more relaxed, but then her eyes narrowed. "You are, aren't you? Listen…" She inched closer to me, lowering her voice. "Suzaku rescued me and took me to a hospital when I woke up here. Don't you think I owe him that much?"

I refused to look at her. "So you owe him so much that you're joining the wrong side?"

Sachi sucked in, making a clicking noise in her mouth. "It may be the wrong side, but Suzaku and I are doing the right thing. I believe in his plan. You're Japanese, and so is Nana, you both should join too. The more Honorary Britannians that are Japanese, the faster the Britannians will see how wrong they are in discriminating against their people."

To keep myself from shouting, I gritted my teeth. "They'll never see that. When push comes to shove, they will use you both as decoys and won't give a damn if you die or not."

"That's not true!"

"IT IS!"

Sachi's eyes widened, surprised at my sudden outburst. Some students who were around quieted down, others stared.

I leaned close enough to Sachi to whisper, "Nana and I are already Black Knights anyway."

She backed up. "Are you crazy?"

"No, I'm not," I replied firmly. "I should be asking you and Suzaku that. At least, I'm actually fighting for my people and not kissing Britannian ass like you two."

"If what you said is true, about us being used…_he_ is just as worse. You're only _his_ pawns."

I waved off Sachi and left. Who does she think she is?

As far as Code Geass is concerned, it wasn't enough to hope for the best. You had to take action.

* * *

When I reached Lelouch's dorm, I spotted Nunnally outside sitting in her wheelchair with her hands in her lap, staring up at the sky. I always admired how she seemed so carefree, even with her disability.

I walked up to her. "Hey, Nunnally, have you seen Lelouch?"

"Mayu, is that you?" She asked, her head moving towards my direction.

"Yeah, it's me," I answered, smiling. "I have to talk to your brother, is he around?"

She nodded. "Oh, yes. He's in his room, actually. You can go inside; just knock on his door."

"Okay, thank you!" I began to walk off, but stopped half way. "By the way, is it okay if I ask you what you're doing here?"

Nunnally continued to look at the sky. "Just enjoying the outside…this may sound weird since I can't see, but I don't feel like I'm being held back by my disability. My other senses are a lot stronger than before…so I might as well at least enjoy nature with them, shouldn't I?"

My smile grew. "You should. You know, you're one of a kind, Nunnally," I said.

"Lelouch tells me that, too…" she murmured. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

With that, I headed for Lelouch's dorm.

I knocked twice and heard Lelouch call out, "Hold on!"

When he opened the door, he seemed startled to see it was me. "Mayu? What are you doing here?"

The sudden urge to vomit was coming to me, but I tried to suppress it. "I'm here to tell you the truth about my friends and I ... or maybe more about me. Like how I knew so much about you before."

Lelouch blinked as if he were confused, but then regained his composure. "Alright…"


	14. Chapter 14

_July 1, 2013_

_Dear Diary,_

_Today is the first day of July…that's crazy. If time here and in my world is the same…my friends and I had missed the rest of our school year. I'm hoping that doesn't mean we'll be retained and repeat the year. But most importantly, I hope that I'm wrong. I hope it's only been a few days. Who knows how worried everyone back home is? Ms. Koi, Kiki, all the other kids at the orphanage, Nana and Sachi's family. They all must be so scared. _

_In hope that I'll be able to take this with me when we do leave…maybe I can keep some memories._

_A lot had happened in these past couple of days. I recently told Sachi off, Ryou and C.C told us their story, and Lelouch finally knows the truth. After I had told Lelouch everything, he actually said he believed me. I expected that I'd have to start blurting out all this stuff from the anime, which I did at first, and he seemed utterly amused yet serious at the same time. But really, it was with the help of C.C, who randomly popped out of nowhere to back me up. I'll cover the rest this afternoon. I may be in an anime, but I still have to attend classes and be on time!_

* * *

_Continued,_

_Back again! Well that was a pretty uneventful day, besides the fact that I fell on top of Lelouch today on accident, and everyone in class started going, "oooo!" And that included Nana. But Shirley didn't seem very happy. That girl needs to just admit her feelings already. She'll die anyway. Unless… I could possibly change that from happening? I wonder if Ryou would be okay with that, though._

_Speaking of the blond, I almost forgot that I planned on writing down the history of him and C.C. Ryou said a few weeks after his escape from the rich family he had been adopted into, he came across C.C who had been washing herself in a stream. The water around her was completely red and he noticed how her clothes and skin were covered in blood. Hiding behind a tree, Ryou watched her intently. He didn't want to move in fear that he'd be spotted and get killed himself. He had thought C.C was a murderer._

_But that was incorrect. She had been tricked into taking the life of a nun who had passed down her "Code" to C.C after her wish was fulfilled. At that time, C.C's appearance was about how it is now, but Ryou was still merely a boy, only with a Geass and not a Code. He may have had brains, but youth and curiosity caused him to poke his head out more so he could see the girl better. He had been intrigued by her beauty, despite the blood that littered the water around her and caked her skin and clothes. Once again, he tried to get closer, but C.C noticed him that time, and she quickly got to her feet, covering herself._

"_Who are you?" She had asked. "Why are you staring at me?"_

_Young Ryou wasn't startled at all. He slowly stepped out from behind the tree. "Sorry…"_

_They didn't elaborate much on the conversation after. C.C had disconfirmed Ryou's assumption of being a murderer and asked the boy if he'd keep a secret. Knowing the real reason of the blood on C.C's clothing, Ryou wasn't as worried as before. After sharing stories, C.C took Ryou under her care for a while. The two became close and it wasn't until Ryou was 15 that he decided that he wanted to be immortal and stay with C.C. She had tried to convince him that being immortal was the last thing he'd want, but he didn't listen. Instead, one night, he left. _

_C.C had woken up, and she never saw Ryou for the next two and a half years. During those years, C.C had been seen as a witch, being burned at the stake, beaten, and tormented by village people, and unfortunately, she never died. She continued to feel the pain, crying almost every night, hiding out in churches and abandoned buildings, even sometimes in the forest, but that brought back memories of Ryou, where they had met, so that was the last place she wanted to be._

_The 15 year old Ryou wasn't having the best time either. He continuously searched nearly everywhere for that butler that had given him Geass. He knew he'd never get a Code if he didn't find him. And while C.C pondered over whether she should hate Ryou for leaving her or attempt to find him, Ryou was doing all of this for her. If he stayed in the normal human life cycle, he'd die of old age and leave C.C all alone. Wouldn't that be worse than leaving her?_

_Ryou eventually found the man in a different village three years later. The man looked exactly the same, serving yet another rich family. They had met that night, and of course, his wish had been to die. So Ryou, now 18 years old, fulfilled that wish, with his bare hands._

_I had tried asking him how he did it out of curiosity, but he never wanted to answer that._

_Later as Ryou made his way back to where he met C.C, he found her in that same spot in the stream. She had scars all over her body. There must have been some dried blood to cause he could see her scratching at it softly and throwing water on the wounds. When Ryou walked over to her, she jumped up, alarmed, but when she realized who he was, she slowly sat back down in the water and said, "So you're back. I see you've grown. Did you not find that man who gave you your Geass?"_

_Ryou sat down on the ground close to the stream, watching her. "Where did you get those scars from?"_

_C.C didn't reply, but she stopped washing herself, looking down at the dirty water around her. Ryou noticed the sad expression on her face and frowned. "What happened?"_

_The question sent C.C into a crying fit, and she covered her face with her hands, sobbing._

_At this part, Nana and I were literally balling out tears._

_Even though Ryou's clothes were perfectly dry and C.C would only stain them with blood, he inched into the water and gave C.C a hug which she returned._

_Ryou had been angry to hear what had happened to C.C during the past years, but she didn't want him to worry too much about it. He mostly blamed himself more than he did the villagers who actually committed the crime. If he had stayed, he could have protected her._

_It turned out, C.C had stayed in that area in hopes that Ryou would come back, but it cost her lots of pain and suffering. _

_However, I quote from C.C, "but it was worth it."_

_It was cute and all, but afterwards, when nobody was looking, I slapped Ryou on the arm and told him that he better not steal C.C away from Lelouch._

_His response was a wink and a smirk. I don't trust him!_

* * *

Nana and I stood behind the concession stand, waiting for any thirsty students to come by a buy a smoothie. Ashford Academy was a busy and noisy as ever due to the school festival. Everyone appeared to be very consent this time around. Suzaku was sitting in an actual Knightmare Frame, tossing about pizza dough. And even from afar, I could see Ryou and C.C on top of the roof, watching Suzaku and talking. They seemed to be having a good time too. It was definitely a great day to be outside and not have to worry about school. Nana tapped me on the shoulder and pointed.

Following her finger, I spotted Lelouch, Nunnally and a girl with pink hair sitting together, talking.

"Is that Princess Euphemia?" I questioned.

Nana nodded. "It sure is…so you know what that means." I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "It means the Special Administrative Zone of Japan! You know… Euphemia's plan? Ring a bell?"

"Oh no!" I shrieked.

"Oh yes!" Nana retorted. "And this should be about the time…"

As she trailed off, a sudden strong wind blew past, pushing hair in front of my face, and taking Eupehemia's hat with it which she tried to grab in ill-attempt. I tucked my hair back as soon as students began gasping and gawking.

"Is that the Princess?"

"Princess Euphemia?!"

A crowd started to gather around them, and Euphemia said something to Lelouch and Nunnally. The raven haired boy seemed to have said something back, but then took off the other way with his sister.

The whole glob of students got larger and closer to the Princess, one of them being Nina who proclaimed loudly, "I'll protect you, Princess Euphemia!"

Startled, Suzaku lost control of the pizza and it flew, landing on a tree.

A couple of guards were now rushing to the scene trying to hold back the overexcited teenagers.

"Should we go help or something?" Nana asked.

I shook my head. "Suzaku's got it."

Only a few seconds after I said that, Suzaku called out to Euphemia, picking her up in his Knightmare frame's hands. Nana and I shared the same anxious look. Things were about to get serious.

The Princess turned and faced the crowd. "Excuse me! Could I get everyone's attention, please?" The riot and screaming died down and she continued. "I'd like to proclaim a new establishment; one where Elevens no longer have to worry about being discriminated against or facing poverty and hunger. I'm calling it: The Special Administrative Zone of Japan!"

"And this is where the real bloodshed comes in…" Nana murmured.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN! Euphemia's special part is coming up, guys! Are you excited? I know I am! Don't forget to review! Hope you guys enjoyed Ryou and C.C's story, I made it up myself :D Also, if you choose to review, I have a question. Is there any couple you support (basing from my fanfiction)? Like do you still like Lelouch and C.C or have Ryou and C.C grown on you? Answers are appreciated! And I know I'm kind of losing Lelouch here, would anyone like more of him in the chapters? Thanks! **


	15. Chapter 15

I sat at the desk, writing some more entries in my journal, including things that happened from the very beginning of our journey to our current time. Usually, I wasn't one to document my life events down on paper, but this was an exception. I wanted to make sure that I never forget anything.

"What do you think she's doing over there?" Nana whispered, loud enough for me to hear her from across the room.

She and Ryou were literally talking about me behind my back, both sitting crisscross beside one another. The fact that they were both in pajamas, side by side on Nana's bed while hugging pillows made it look like some sort of sleepover. And I was the subject for tonight's game of gossip.

"I don't know, but she's been real quiet…" He trailed off, and the room became silent. I had no idea why they stopped talking, but I didn't feel like finding out why or turning around, so I continued writing some more. This entry was about the conversation between Lelouch and I, and judging from the looks of things, the next one would revolve around the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, Euphemia's plan.

Suddenly, I felt the bothersome presence of peeping eyes from behind. I sluggishly peeked back to find Ryou and Nana leaning over me, observing my journal with inquisitive eyes.

"Whatcha doing?" The blond asked.

Nana bobbed her head robotically. "Yes, Mayu, what are you doing?"

I turned around in my chair to face them. "I'm recording everything that happens in this world to this journal. Everybody I meet, everything I learn, everything that I experience. Every detail I feel that has some significance to me."

"What for?"

I picked up the journal and walked over to my bed, sliding it under the pillow. "Because I want to remember everything; I want memories from here, even the bad ones." I regarded Ryou. "You've never told me this, but I have a feeling Nana, Sachi and I can't stay here forever, am I right?"

My friend glanced at Ryou. "Is that true?"

He nodded. "It is. You won't be able to stay past the ending of the anime. Once the last episode of R2 goes by, or I should say, Lelouch's fake assassination, you three will be thrown back into your own world again, whether you want to go or not. It's inevitable."

"I guessed just as much," I said miserably. "That's exactly why I want to write this down. I'm hoping that if I hold on to that journal the day we're meant to go, that it'll go with me and that I won't forget anything or anyone from this world because I'll have everything written." I noticed how sad Nana seemed so I gave her a smile. "And who knows, maybe Nana and I will use the journal to write an awesome Code Geass fan fiction. And I bet everyone would love you, Ryou."

The immortal grinned. "You think so?"

"I know so!" I piped.

Nana squinted at the clock on the nightstand, and walked over to her bed, laying down. "It's getting late, guys, we should probably hit the hay soon…" She stretched, but then stopped short. "By the way, what were you writing in the journal this time? Was it about Princess Euphemia's, big announcement today?"

I shook my head. "Well, I was getting to it, but you both were…distracting…" I made sure to give them both the look as I said that. "So I mostly just wrote about the talk between Lelouch and me."

Nana smirked. "Oh, I see. The talk, she says. We could definitely write fan fiction on that too! Everyone loves a good smut scene." Ryou started to laugh a bit, but when I glared at him, he covered his mouth, yet I could still hear him giggling. I caught the sly look on Nana's face and she began blurting out random lines as dramatically as possible.

"Oh, kiss me, Lelouch!" Nana shouted, flapping her arms in the air proudly. "Kiss me until our lips fall apart, until we cannot breathe, until our bodies melt together as one from the passionate love-"

I stuffed her face with a pillow, and all I could hear was mumbling.

"What? I can't hear you, girl, SPEAK UP." I yelled in my old man impression voice, pulling the pillow away and throwing it at the now cracking up, Ryou.

"Hey!"

"That's what happens when you laugh!" I retorted, sticking my tongue at him. "But being serious, you two, we really did only talk. I don't have time to fall in love with Lelouch. I'll always think of him as my favorite martyr, but that's all I have to think. It wouldn't make sense to start anything if I'm leaving anyway."

_Besides…Nana had been right about earlier. She had said that Lelouch wasn't real, that he was just an anime character. That's true._

But I wonder…was Sachi thinking the complete opposite of that? Had she fallen for Suzaku?

Nana blinked. "I've never heard you sound so staid before. It kind of scares me. But changing the subject, what did you and Lelouch talk about?"

"Well I had gone to go tell him the truth. It was only the right thing to do since he trusted us with being a part of the Black Knights and everything, but when I told him, he said he already knew and that he believed me."

Nana's eyes widened. "Is he insane? If I were him, I would want to send you to the hospital. Are you positive that's what happened?"

I nodded. "But I'm getting to why it makes sense. He had used his Geass on me already remember? And I had told him everything then."

"That is true," Ryou murmured. "And Geass doesn't lie so that's probably why he believed you."

Nana sat up. "I wonder how he felt about finding out he's an anime character, that his whole world is just an anime, and that there's a bigger world out there…a real one."

Ryou shrugged. "He's got bigger things to worry about; he most likely doesn't care very much. And since this is his world, he feels that it's real, and I suppose that's all that matters."

A ringing noise filled the room, and all three of us glanced in the direction of the sound. It was coming from Nana's bag that sat at the edge of her bed. She reached into it and pulled out a cell phone.

"Oh, it's a text…from Sachi."

'Wait a minute," I said. "You have your phone here?"

Nana flipped her cell open, the light illuminating her face as she checked it. "Yeah, I had it in my pocket during the whole witchcraft thing. So did Sachi. But if anybody from the real world texted or called me, it never went through. It still works for…" She trailed off, her eyes narrowing at the phone.

"Why are you making that face?" Ryou probed, peeking over her shoulder at the cell. "What the hell is she thinking?"

"What is it?" I inquired irritably.

Nana closed her phone. "Sachi is going to be at the Special Administrative Zone of Japan with Suzaku and Princess Euphemia…"

* * *

Once again, we were back at the hideout van we had used earlier during the Hotel Crisis. Kallen had gave me and Nana instructions on how to use a Knightmare Frame and it was actually a lot easier than I expected; you just had to remember what a few of the controls were and moving it was pretty straightforward on its own. There had been hush between all three of us as we walked back, but it wasn't much of a shock. Most of the Black Knights, including Kallen, didn't really have confidence in the whole "Special Administrative Zone of Japan" thing, nor did they trust Princess Euphemia even though she's had no bad streak with the Japanese…yet.

When we returned, Zero was sitting down, and even though I couldn't see his face, I could tell he was drained by the continuous comments made by the Black Knights, especially Tamaki, who was running his mouth without stopping.

"You can't seriously expect all of this to go right, Zero!" Tamaki was saying. "This has got to be a hoax, we can't trust Princess Euphemia! If you ask me, I think you should reject her offer to meet."

Although I couldn't tell myself, I had a feeling Lelouch was glaring from behind that mask when he turned to look at the ranting Black Knight. "We'll meet with her. That's final."

"What makes you so sure we can have faith in her?" Ohgi questioned.

Zero stood up. "Nothing, but that's why I'll have you all stationed outside the stadium in Knightmare Frames." He then walked to the stairs and started for the second floor of the van. "We'll be leaving soon enough. Be ready."

Tamaki snorted. "This guy," he spat. "Sometimes he seems so shifty."

Kallen rolled her eyes at him. "Complaining will do you nothing. Nobody said you had to stay so just leave if you want to."

"Trying to pick a fight with me, Kallen?"

The red head shrugged. "No," she replied, spinning on her heels to leave.

While all of this had been happening, I couldn't help but be concerned about Sachi. Out of the three of us, Sachi was the one who looked the most Japanese. What if Suzaku goes insane finding Euphemia that in the process, he leaves Sachi on her own? I may dislike the decisions that she's making right now, but that didn't mean I wanted her to get harmed. Just like Ryou had said earlier…what the hell is she thinking?

Nana poked my arm. "Scared? You look kind of nervous."

I shook my head quickly, forging a wide smile. "Not at all…nervous? Maybe a little bit."


	16. Chapter 16

**So, I've been reading this over and over again, but I feel like it needs something or that there's a mistake somewhere but I can't find one, so if you see one, it is most likely that I will never fix it ^_^ so you deal with it xD *gives you a cookie* please, deal with it ,-, or I'll cry.**

* * *

It was finally happening. The uneasiness that was building inside me since the beginning now felt like it was about to come up in a nauseating, green and chunky liquid form. I wanted to throw up, again. It was ten times worse than the phase back at the Hotel when Zero's team officially became the Black Knights.

I felt my grip tighten around the Knightmare Frame's controls. Mine wasn't anything special like Kallen's red one or C.C's but it was a lot quicker than the standard ones used by Britannian soldiers. It also put my mind at ease to the fact that our communication system wasn't all grouped together as one. Ryou had got a friend of his to install a separated kind of system in our Knightmares. There were buttons that read Bk1, Bk2 and so forth which represented a Black Knight. My number was Bk5, Nana's was BK4, Ryou's was Bk7 and Kallen's was Bk2. At the very end was the button Z which obviously stood for the Knightmare piloted by C.C along with Zero. We were able to talk to anyone without having to connect to everybody. And to me, that made things a lot easier.

We all surrounded the stadium in our robotic machines, awaiting any orders from Zero. Close by to my left were Kallen and Nana, and to my right was Ryou. The other Black Knights were more of a distance from us so that if we did have to attack, we all wouldn't be one huge target to fire at once we emerged, and it'd a least set some confusion if we appeared from different spots. I leaned forward in my seat as I watched C.C's machine fly over the walls of the stadium. Standing on the shoulder of the Knightmare, was Zero.

"Hey, can you hear me?" The sound of Nana's voice came from the speaker that was just to the side of all the controls. The Bk4 button lit up as she spoke. "Mayu, are you there?"

I reached out to press the button and it just remained lit. "I can hear you, Nana," I replied, gritting my teeth a bit in hopes that she wouldn't be able to tell how nervous I was. "How are you feeling?"

I heard her sigh from the other end. "Not that well, actually. I don't think I'm ready to be shot at."

Neither was I so I tried convincing myself that the bullets of the guns would be unable to penetrate through the armor of Knightmares…but I wasn't too persuaded. All I could think about was what happened in the anime, how when the machine couldn't handle anymore, it exploded. Not the best thing to assure yourself, but it was the truth. Even though Nana couldn't see this, I smiled encouragingly.

"Agreed, but since we're rookies, perhaps we can focus on saving the Japanese instead of fighting…"

There was a pause from her end. "That still includes fighting and getting shot at…from what we know, it'll be an order from the Princess herself, and everyone who is below her will comply. And if we're trying to stop that, they won't let us get in their way without a struggle."

I huffed. "I guess you're right."

"I'm connecting Ryou."

"Alright…" The discomfort caused me to shift in my seat and I yearned for this to be over with. My finger unconsciously pushed the BK7 button. A female voice said something from the speaker but my edginess must have been the reason why I missed it. I blinked.

"No, I already told you before that you can't mention anything to Zero. This is a big part of Code Geass and you're not allowed to change it; that will only screw up the rest of the story," I heard Ryou say irritably.

"But maybe we can avoid the whole Japanese people getting slaughtered if we actually warn him about his Geass losing control. Then he won't accidentally start a massacre," Nana countered crudely.

As much as I agreed and wanted to back her up, Ryou had sounded a bit peeved just now, and I felt that picking sides would only worsen my anxiety and take a lot of energy out of me, but I wasn't planning on just sitting there and forcing myself to listen to them argue either.

"Both of you need to just SHUT UP!" I bellowed hard enough to the point where my throat now seemed dry. "Arguing we get neither of you nowhere. Lelouch is probably talking to Euphemia at this very moment, we just need to be quiet and wait for orders, OKAY?"

The two remained silent for a couple of seconds and I began to wonder if I had yelled too loudly or if they were just surprised at the sudden outbreak. Ryou was the first to reply.

"You're right," he said softly. "We need to be ready."

"Agreed," Nana murmured.

They didn't say anything after that.

* * *

Sachi jumped out of her Knightmare Frame the moment she saw Suzaku fall backwards to the ground. She knew about this part of the anime. The Japanese boy wasn't hurt by C.C who he had grabbed by the shoulders, but she hadn't been able to control the urge to run to his side. Two other guards had done the same and C.C ran to her Knightmare, a hand covering one of her eyes.

_This must be it_, Sachi thought to herself as she crouched beside Kururugi. _The switch on Lelouch's Geass was now stuck, and the Princess would be here soon._

Sachi shook Suzaku hard, trying her best to wake him up quickly before the massacre began, but so far it was no use. He remained unconscious and limp. She did this for some time; not realizing that Euphemia had ran past her.

"Excuse me, but I'd like to ask all the Japanese a favor!" The Princess announced. Sachi turned her head, her eyes widening. "Could you all die, please? I'd very much appreciate it!"

Mutters and whispers came from the crowd outside and Suzaku's subordinate watched as everything started to fall into place. Zero had run out now and guards attempted to stop him from getting near the Princess as she continued her order.

"It'd be a lot quicker if you all just committed suicide, but you can't, can you?" She exclaimed; her face bright and her lips smiling. "Well that's just fine! I have an army at my command. Guards, I order you to kill all the Japanese. Leave not a single one alive, okay?"

Despite her being of royalty, none of her underlings did as she demanded. They must have been confused or thought she was joking, so they only stayed still.

"Guards, do as I order; it's as easy as this." With that, she pointed the gun she had been holding, and before Sachi knew it, a gunshot filled the empty air around the stadium, followed by the sounds of a crying baby, a few gasps, silence, and then a terrified scream.

"Go on, soldiers, do your duty," The princess declared. "It's not as difficult as it seems!"

* * *

An explosion in the side of the stadium around where I was stationed caused me to jump out of my skin. Britannian forces were now leaving the area, chasing after Elevens who had managed to get outside without getting killed. Even though I couldn't keep myself from shivering as badly as I was, and despite the fact that I didn't want to have to deal with any of this, all I wanted to do now was to rescue the Japanese, but we had to wait for…

The Z button flashed.

"This is my order to all Black Knights; the Special Administrative Zone of Japan was a hoax that was only meant to lure us in their cowardly trap. All Knightmare units advance and engage in attack on Britannian forces. Wipe them out and save the Japanese!"

…_that_ order.

In an instance, we all launched our Knightmares from our posts and moved in.

* * *

After the order, Ryou and Nana had covered me so I could make it in without having to engage in battle. Our plan was to get me in as fast as possible since I volunteered to rescue anyone who still hadn't made it out, but it appeared that I was too late. There was more bloodshed than you could ever imagine in that stadium. There were dead bodies everywhere I looked. It made my stomach turn.

There was still a couple of running Japanese people that I could make out, but my hands refused to steer. I didn't want to move. I was horrified.

A Knightmare moved in beside me and out of fright, I almost turned to attack it only to hear Nana's voice from the speaker, "Hey, don't kill me! I didn't mean to scare you!"

"I-I'm sorry…" I replied quietly.

A few gunshots rang out and I looked up to see Princess Euphemia shooting at a group of scuttling Japanese people. Even witnessing that, I still couldn't get myself to move.

"Euphemia needs to die," Nana said almost hatefully. "We both know there's no way to save- MAYU, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!"

I was alerted by that, but I wasn't swift enough to dodge. I felt the side of my machine get sprayed with bullets and it nearly made me fall over, but I pulled back on the controls just in time. At the same moment, Nana went in on the attacking Britannian Knightmare and instead of shooting; she slammed into it with the shoulder of her Knightmare. The sight of her fighting gave me an out of the blue motivation that made absolutely no sense at all. I turned back around only to see that Euphemia had gone somewhere else. So I scanned the stadium and found Ryou who was out of his Knightmare. He was holding the hand of a little Japanese boy, and Euphemia was gradually strolling towards them.

I pressed the BK4 button repetitively. "Nana!"

No answer.

"NANA," I yelled again. "Nana, I need help over here!"

There was grunt from the other end. "I can't, Mayu! I'm kind of…UGH!" I heard the sound of bullets being fired and metal clashing. "I'm kind of busy!"

Silently cursing, I did the stupidest thing without even realizing it. I got out of my Knightmare Frame and dashed to Ryou's side, not comprehending that I was only giving him an extra person to worry about.

The Princess reloaded her gun. "Another one! Are you Japanese, too? If you are, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you." She smiled at us. "Or I can give you this and you can shoot yourself."

If Ryou was troubled or scared, he didn't show it as he placed the little boy's hand in mine, pushing us both behind him. "Whether we are or not doesn't concern you, Princess. You shouldn't be killing them in the first place because they've done nothing to you."

She shook her head. "That doesn't matter. They are Japanese and I plan to murder them all. I can tell you are not one of them, so move or I'll shoot you as well."

Ryou didn't budge.

I leaned close to him. "Why did you leave your Knightmare?"

The blond frowned. "The boy was too scared of the machine and I didn't want him to get killed."

My eyes traveled down to the child holding my hand. He kept his brown, watery pupils on the Princess, peeking from behind Ryou. He must have been so petrified by her that he feared even taking his gaze away from her would mean he'd be shot. I took notice in the few dead bodies around us, but I didn't want to look any closer to their details. I just hoped that none of them were his parents. No child deserves to see them like that.

I squeezed his little hand gently and looked at Ryou. "You're a crazy idiot."

The immortal never got the chance to answer because a shout came from behind us. When I glanced back, I saw Sachi rushing in our direction; she seemed to not care much for Euphemia as she addressed us.

"Where is Suzaku?" She asked, trying to catch her breath. "I can't find him…"

Was that all she was worried about? Suzaku this, Suzaku that? While innocent people were being killed on racial thought, all she was concerned about was finding him?

I knit my eyebrows in disgust. "He can handle himself! What about all the Japanese?"

Princess Euphemia blinked. "Oh, are you Japanese, too?" She inquired to Sachi.

The girl turned to her. "Princess…put that weapon down…you can kill us with that, you know."

Thank you for stating the obvious.

"I know that," Euphemia said. "You all are getting on my nerves so I'm going to assume you are Japanese…but…" Her attention went to Ryou. "I don't think you are, are you?"

"That doesn't matter," Sachi proclaimed, putting herself in front of Ryou, the boy and I. "You can't just kill them, Princess. Try to fight that Geass; it's what's really causing you to do this!"

The pink haired female raised an eyebrow, but at the same time, raised the gun. "I don't know what you're talking about and I'm afraid I don't care. Just die, please."

And with a small pull of the trigger; she showered multiple bullets upon us.


	17. Chapter 17

The sound of the gunshots was the most terrifying noise I've ever heard in my entire life. As petrified as I was, I did what I had to do to protect that boy. I used my own body as a shield, wrapping myself around him as best I could. It almost felt like time had slowed down then, and I wondered if I would die. Would my life really end in some anime universe that started with a book of witchcraft? Had fate actually decided that I would leave the world like this?

I felt a hand give me a shove from behind, and because I hadn't been expecting it, I was unable to resist it. The boy and I were knocked to the ground, and he let out a startled cry when my larger weight pressed against him. As I tried giving him relief from my heavier mass, I curled around him like an eggshell to a newborn chick and it was only a couple of seconds afterwards that the bullets ceased.

Whimpering noises caused me to turn towards it, and my eyes widened at the sight of Ryou with his arms around Sachi.

"RYOU!" I shouted; my eyes starting to water up. "NO!"

Sachi was far beyond that, tears flowing down her face like a river. The whining had been coming from her. It appeared as if Ryou and she were embracing, his body completely sheltering hers. What scared me was the wet blood that was beginning to seep through his uniform; even with the dark clothing, it was challenging to miss. He had been shot trying to keep my friend safe.

Ryou's eyes were lifeless and half-closed as if he were about to fall into oblivion. He now sluggishly loosened his grip on her, dropping to his knees.

Euphemia frowned, scanning all four of us, and then the gun she was holding. "Do I really have to reload again?" She questioned out loud, though it was obvious she was speaking to herself. "I wasted all that ammo and I only hit one out of four? Why am I such a bad aim?"

I lifted myself up a bit and grimaced at my scraped left knee. It was painful and it stung, but that was the least of my worries. I turned to the boy whose eyes were more waterlogged than before. "Don't move, okay?" He was quivering badly, about ten times worse than me, but managed a nod.

A heart straining sob escaped from Sachi's throat and I watched as she fell to the ground in front of Ryou, gripping him by the shoulders. "Why did you do it? Why? You don't even know me…" Her voice was clogged and I could easily see her fingers twitching. And with that look on her face, it dawned on me that Ryou being shot wasn't the only thing that was frightening her. It was the blood.

As long as I've known her, she's always been afraid of it, even if it's just a tiny bit. Nana and I had lied to her about there being no bloodshed in Code Geass so she'd give it a chance, but even when she figured it out, she continued watching it anyway since she had grown to like the anime. Still, her eyes would widen at the scene and she'd avert her gaze at some points.

Ryou seemed to be losing his conscious little by little because he slumped forward into Sachi, but still appeared to be mindful of her presence. Less could be said for his awareness of me or the boy since his eyes were fluttering and dim-looking. Perhaps his vision was blurring.

Sachi whimpered pathetically as Ryou's blood started to soak her Britannian uniform. Her trembling hands attempted to shake him again as if to make sure he was still alive, but she accidentally touched the bloodied area on his back. This caused her to squeal and she turned to me. Her face was wild with horror and panic as she said, "I can't do this, Mayu…"

A clicking noise came from a few feet away and I finally remembered the danger we were in. I caught sight of the bloodstained Euphemia who was beaming at us. "My sincere apologizes, but reloading is very difficult for me. I'm not familiar with this gun yet. So how about we get this over with…?" The princess trailed off a bit, looking not at me, but past me, her head tilting to the side.

As I followed her gaze, a small breeze blew at my face as C.C's Knightmare landed, and before I knew it, Zero was gradually walking towards Euphemia.

It was all over.

The little boy who still took refuge under me, now sat up, ogling Zero with awe. He tapped me on my shoulder. "Is that really him? Is that really Zero?" His voice was soft and full of fascination.

I bobbed my head quickly in reply. "That's him all right."

The pink-haired Princess stared at Zero as he approached her. "Excuse me, are you Japanese, too? I can't really tell with that mask you're wearing," she murmured innocently.

He didn't respond.

* * *

Lloyd and Ms. Cecile had pulled Sachi out of the room the moment they realized the Princess only had a little bit longer to live. She wanted to stay, to be by Suzaku's side so he'd have a shoulder to cry on, but she was told that leaving them alone would be for the best. Lloyd had left the two and Cecile noticed the sad expression on Sachi's face.

The woman smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I understand your feelings in this situation," she gazed at the door for just a second before continuing. "But Suzaku needs to spend the last few minutes the Princess has remaining with her. It'd be the same way if it were you dying."

Sachi peered up at Ms. Cecile, tears threatening to run down her cheeks. "I just feel like I should be there…" she replied, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her uniform.

It was the truth. Sachi felt worthless just waiting outside Euphemia's room, waiting for her to die, waiting for Suzaku to break apart. She wanted to be there more than anything. Be able to do something even if it's as little as being a comfort to him. He had rescued her when she had woken up, had taken her to a hospital. It was about time she showed her gratitude. And about time that he noticed the feelings she's been hiding. _Her feelings._

Ms. Cecile's hands dropped to her sides, frowning. "Not now… but afterwards…afterwards, make sure he's okay, won't you? When she's gone, I think you'll be the only one he can truly depend on."

Sachi blinked and watched as Ms. Cecile spun on her heels and made her leave.

_You'll be the only one he can truly depend on._

"Really?" The girl whispered to herself. "I doubt it."

She then leaned against the wall, slid down to the floor, and covered her face with her hands. Even with her fear of blood, the amount of it on her clothes was nothing compared to the pain she felt now.

* * *

"And then, after Lelouch shot her, Suzaku rushed in with his Lancelot, screaming at the top of his lungs! It was like this; AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nana yelled, her hands swooping down in the same motion the Lancelot did. "I'm telling you, he was pissed! But that made it all the more awesome!"

"Yes, Nana, we all heard Suzaku. I think we know." C.C rolled her eyes sharply as she removed the bloody bandages from Ryou's injuries. And I quote 'injuries'. The bandages had just been for show.

In the heat of the moment, I had forgotten that Ryou was immortal and the fact that he had been shot, scared the living crap out of me, but he had healed up just fine. He, C.C, Nana and I were all in Lelouch's room, and Nana couldn't help but start repeating the story when Ryou asked what he missed.

I gave him a peeved expression. "You had to ask, didn't you?"

The immortal nodded delightfully, smiling. "Well, I want to know! If you didn't notice, I kind of went on some sort of shut down mode after being shot so many damn times. My senses were screwed up."

Nana crossed her arms and pouted. "Yeah, he wants to know! Besides, I'm the best story teller ever." She stuck out her tongue. "As I was saying, Ryou, so Suzaku was SO mad, and he was headed straight for us in the Lancelot. C.C tried shooting at him, but he just kept dodging! And just in that moment, Kallen came to my side and asked where Zero was, and when I pointed, she jumped into action to protect him, but Suzaku wasn't playing around. It only took him a few seconds to get past her and reach the Princess, and once he did, he left as fast as he could."

C.C glowered at my friend. "You were just standing there?"

"Sure was," Nana confirmed wittily. "I was captivated by your beauty, C.C!"

I gave her a similar glare. "Even while Ryou, Sachi, that boy and I were being shot at?!"

The brunette shook her head. "I only got there just a few seconds before Zero…but speaking of that, I wonder how Sachi is holding up. I couldn't help but worry about that thing she has with blood."

Ryou raised an eyebrow at her. "Thing she has with blood?" He repeated.

"Yeah, she has a problem with blood," I responded. "Just the mere sight of it gives her the shivers, and seeing how much you were bleeding, she's probably not feeling that well."

"Maybe," Nana muttered. "But why did we just leave her there? After Suzaku's rampage, we just left."

C.C blinked repeatedly. "Why do you think? She's neither our teammate nor are we her guardians. She is on the opposite side; we don't need to pity her or take her in."

I nodded. "I agree with C.C. She's chosen this for herself. Besides, it's not like she said anything or begged us to stay. She just sat there, crying while whispering Suzaku's name over and over again."

Just thinking about that moment made me angry. How much she cared for him when it was obvious that his care for her was less. Suzaku can see good and well, and I know he saw Sachi there on the ground. Yet all he cared to rescue was the Princess, the one who could've possibly shot my friend to death, the one who caused the slaughter of millions of Japanese people. Yes, it was Geass, but Suzaku didn't know that. When it seems like the one you love is murdering thousands of your people, you rescue her instead of others? So far, Suzaku's mind wasn't going in the right direction. And I'm hoping, Sachi will see that before she turns her back on her people and her _friends._

At the sound of the door opening, we all turned our heads to see Lelouch walk in. He closed the door behind him, took notice of us, and gaped.

Nana grinned, showing her teeth. "What's up, doc?"

I tried my friendliest smile and waved at him. "Hi."

Ryou just glanced at C.C who said, "I let them in."

Lelouch scowled. "Let them in my room?"

"Yup, you know how much I like making you mad." C.C smiled. "Hey can we order pizza?"

The raven haired boy rubbed his temples, and sighed. "Sure, but stop doing that. This is MY room!"

"But if you get technical, it's OUR room."

Lelouch narrowed his eyes.

"So when are you going to order pizza?"

* * *

**My fellow readers! I'm sorry for taking so long! T_T I've just been having writer's block EVERY time I work on this chapter and I don't know why D: But it's done now :3 most likely full of mistakes I never noticed, but done. So enjoy! I hope you all are looking forward to more chapters and the big finish! :D don't forget to review :3**


	18. Chapter 18

**I'm sorry for doing this to you, Sachi Dx**

* * *

A few days had passed and Sachi took notice of Suzaku's change of character, not that she was flabbergasted by it. He was full of angst and very ill-tempered towards almost everyone, even her. During Knightmare Frame training, he'd be too rough with his opponents to the point where Cecile would have to warn him to calm down. Then again, Lloyd would be clapping, muttering about how marvelous and beautiful his Lancelot is.

He wasn't going to take Euphemia's death easily and Sachi was reminded about that all the time, especially when she looked at Suzaku, and that pin he always wore.

Even staring at him now from across her, she caught herself glowering at that pin with a feeling of envy lurching in the pit of her stomach and in the bottom of her heart.

"Did you hear what I said?"

Sachi blinked repeatedly at the sound of Suzaku's voice, and she gazed up at the Japanese boy before her, his emerald eyes burning with solemnity. They held each other's eyes for a couple of seconds, and then the girl spun and looked around as if confused.

The two were standing outside of Ashford Academy on a cloudy day and perhaps it had been passing period or lunch time because students were all around, talking to friends and doing similar activities. Seeing them do that made her wonder if they were maybe gossiping over the recent death of a Princess.

"Sachi?"

The girl turned her head back around quickly. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

There was a concerned gleam in Suzaku's emerald orbs, but he waved it off, "I wanted to know what you thought about Lelouch." As he said that, his eyes narrowed and the straight line that were his lips frowned, becoming staid. "Is it just me, or do you think he's…Zero?"

Even though the silence felt like hours, it was only but a mere number of seconds. During that time, Sachi debated in her mind. She somehow knew this question would be asked of her, and she most definitely knew who'd be asking. There were two choices for her to make; Suzaku or her friends.

She could lie to him, tell him that Lelouch would be the last person to do the things Zero has done. Or, she could tell the truth, take the cat out of the bag and reveal Lelouch's secret. But if she did, what would Nana and Mayu think? Would they be mad? So angered, that they'd only see Sachi as an enemy the next time they faced one another on the bloody battlefield that they've put themselves on?

Suzaku's piercing gaze trained on her, and he seemed to be losing patience now. "If you know something, you're not doing any good by keeping it from me," he retorted boldly.

"Why would I be?" Sachi contradicted, her eyebrows knitting together in a distasteful manner. "I mean, we're both on the same team and…" She trailed off at the movement of Suzaku as he placed a hand on her arm. He wasn't looking at Sachi but past her, so the girl turned her head to see Mayu, Nana and Lelouch coming their way.

The trio was walking in unison side by side, but it was only the two girls who seemed to be engaged in a conversation. Lelouch, on the other hand, looked like he was lost in his own train of thought.

Suzaku's fingers just barely ghosted down the sleeve of Sachi's uniform and back to his side as he continued to watch them. The younger girl mimicked the gesture, observing the three as well.

Since she had met Nana and Mayu, she's never thought they'd clash or argue. The friendship they shared felt so real, so perfect…too perfect. And now, trapped in an anime, and on different teams, it seemed as if neither of them had ever even known her. But it wasn't Sachi's mistake.

It wasn't her fault that she believed in Suzaku's plan. That she had faith in making the world a better place without the use of savagery. Back in the real world, as the three watched the anime, Mayu and Nana were so captivated and awestruck with Lelouch; so infatuated because he was actually fighting the Britannians unlike Suzaku's more peaceful attempt. They never gave him a chance.

Now all five of them were standing together, the three having stopped in front of Suzaku and Sachi; and an uncomfortable sensation started to fill the hushed atmosphere. In the seconds that followed, the two childhood friends stared at one another, and the girls surveyed.

The female Honorary Britannian glanced over at her friends, but unfortunately, they had the same idea. Sachi took note of the disapproval that Mayu's eyes held as they caught gazes. Conversely, Nana wasn't as hard on her, but she didn't appear very thrilled either.

Lelouch frowned as he held his friend's apprehensive glare. "How are you holding up?"

"How do you think?" Suzaku snapped nippily, biting his lip as he heard the bitterness in his tone echo back to him. "I…I should be asking you the same question."

"I suppose," Lelouch murmured in reply. "The death of Princess Euphemia has shocked me just as much as everyone else. I wish things could have been…different." This had come out genuine and sincere as if he had meant it, but Sachi felt that she knew better than to fall for his game of chess.

"How dare you…" The small Japanese girl mumbled under her breath, her fists balling up, and her shoulders trembling as she scowled at the ground below her feet with her head hung. "How DARE you…! Who do you think you are…?!" She whispered aggressively.

Mayu and Nana shared a quick glance and everyone turned to look at her. The two boys were a bit startled, but the other girls knew of Sachi's tendency to have emotional outbreaks. And usually, they had unpleasant results, whether that is a nosebleed, a possible puddle of tears, or worse.

Suzaku reached out and slowly placed a soothing hand on top of the girl's head. "Are you okay?"

She remained silent, keeping her head down as she continued to shake and shiver. The three stared in a stunned stillness as Suzaku leaned in, trying to look at Sachi's face.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She finally yelled, shoving the browned haired boy hard in the chest. He stumbled back as she lifted up her head only to reveal a red face covered in tears. "WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID?" She shrieked, her voice becoming high pitched and filled with frustration. "WHY, SUZAKU?"

Mayu walked forward a bit, just barely shuffling toward her infuriated friend. "Listen to me, Sachi; you have no reason to get this pissed! You need to cool down! What if a teacher comes by and-"

"I WASN'T TALKING TO YOU!" Sachi shouted, giving Mayu an even harder push than Suzaku, causing the girl to fall backwards. Nana and Lelouch reached out and caught her both by an arm, but Sachi went on with her screaming, this time eyeing Suzaku. "WHY DO YOU NOT LIKE ME? AM I NOT PRETTY ENOUGH FOR YOU? IS EUPHEMIA PRETTIER THAN ME? IS THAT IT?"

None of them noticed, but the group of Ashford students that had been piling around and watching, were getting even bigger now. The bursting Sachi was becoming interesting to them.

Suzaku sighed, moving closer to the maddened girl. "Stop yelling, Sachi. You're drawing unnecessary attention to yourself. Just take a deep breath-"

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT! Stop ignoring what I say! Why are you so…so…" More tears began to form in the corners of Sachi's dark eyes, and she ran forward, propelling past Suzaku, the others and a whole group of students.

Nana exhaled long and deep before whispering, "I'm glad that didn't go any further…"

"HEY! Alright, break it up! Do you guys want a teacher to come over here and start questioning you all? If you don't, I suggest you just move right along! Move it, move it!" A familiar, cheery voice piped.

"You heard her!" _Rivalz._

After staring at a stunned Suzaku for a few seconds, Lelouch turned. "Milly?"

The famous granddaughter smiled. "At your service!" She exclaimed, and then became serious as she placed her hands on her hips. "So what the heck was going on here anyway?"

The Britannian boy pursed his lips and looked back at Suzaku. "Hey, are you alright?"

At Lelouch's question, he blinked his emerald eyes as if he had just been in a daze. "I'm not sure…but I should probably go after her…"

"No, wait."

Everyone's heads turned.

"Let me go talk to her first," Mayu said.

* * *

**Sorry for the late update! ;( And again, sorry Sachi... xD**


	19. Chapter 19

**So, I read your comment Kmon13, My bad! Dx I should be careful where I end chapters because I get where I confused you. I was going to upload this tomorrow or on Friday, but I didn't want to leave you hanging so I'm posting 19. If you still don't understand, I'll explain at the end of this chapter..**

* * *

Sachi's eyes sluggishly opened, and then they closed. She took a deep and lengthy breath, and she opened them once more. The beeping noise that made its way to her ears reminded her of a hospital and from what she could make out, it seemed like she was in one. She could feel the sheets below her and could grip them in her hands. Her body heat was a bit aggravating, considering the white covers that were on her left it swarming around and lingering on her cladded skin, making her sweat more effortlessly.

She sat up and as the sheets slid down, it revealed her bloody blue uniform, and she shrieked.

The door to her room opened, and Ms. Cecile and Lloyd came barging in, seeming startled by the noise that came from the young girl.

"Are you alright?" The dark blue-haired woman inquired with unease, hurrying over to Sachi's bed and placing a hand on her clammy forehead. "You're burning up, maybe you should…"

The rest of the words that came from Cecile were distorted and slurred to Sachi, because things continued to run through her mind. How did she get here? She had just been with Suzaku at Ashford Academy. Princess Euphemia was dead. Suzaku was livid. And Sachi had…lost it. She had gone senseless with jealousy, had yelled and screamed, right in front of him, Mayu, Nana, and even Lelouch. In front of most of the school, actually, and she had been wearing her Ashford uniform, but now…

Sachi pried Cecile's hand from her forehead, and looked up at the older woman. "I'm fine…but what the heck is going on? Why was I asleep just now?"

Both the females turned when the white haired sociopath tittered to himself. "Well, well, Sachi, it seems like you don't remember much, now do you? If you really want to know, we found you fainted in the stadium. It was after the Princess's little…riot, for lack of better words. Ring any bells?"

"Riot…?" Sachi murmured.

Ms. Cecile nodded, frowning. "For an unknown reason, the Princess ordered a massacre of the Japanese people. We don't know why, but we don't plan to question her…in the condition she's in…"

Sachi glanced back down at her Britannian uniform and the blood stain in the middle of it. If this was around time when Euphemia is dying, if the princess was not dead yet…then what about what happened at Ashford between her and Suzaku? Had that never even occurred? Was everything just a dream she had while she was in a coma stage after the bloodbath?

"Speaking of the princess," Cecile said slowly, beginning to turn to walk off. "Maybe we should go check on-" She was stopped by a hand and fingers wrapping around her wrist.

"Wait," Sachi whispered softly, obtaining eye contact with her superior. "Did you and I ever talk about Suzaku…? Do you remember that, Ms. Cecile?" A pause. "Do you?"

The woman shook her head, frowning even more than before now. "No, I'm afraid we haven't. I'm sure I wouldn't have forgotten a conversation I shared with you." She tried to flash a bolstering smile. "Is there something you wish to talk to me about?"

Sachi released her grip, inhaled and exhaled, and replied with a feeble, "no."

"Get some rest, okay?" Cecile said as she followed behind Lloyd, leaving the girl alone.

* * *

Sachi continuously gazed up at the ceiling, unconsciously rubbing the blood-stained spot on her uniform. It no longer disturbed her as much since it was drying up, and she probably was so lost in thought, that she didn't even realize she was touching it.

There were so many questions she was asking herself. Like why did she even fall for an anime character? What did she hope to accomplish? Did she really care about the hostility between the Britannian and Japanese people or was she only on this side because Suzaku was?

Who was that blond guy who rescued her during the massacre? Mayu had called him "Ryou." Who was he and how did the two relate? What did she have to do get her questions answered?

Sachi jumped up at the thought of it, pushed off her white covers and before they even hit the ground, she was out of her room, dashing down the hall and heading towards Euphemia's room.

If her memory wasn't all that fuzzy, then she must be in the room Sachi was thinking of and once she opened up the door, she saw three figures.

One, of course, was the body of the Princess on the white bed and incased by a see through glass. That meant she was already dead… The second person, was Suzaku who turned to face her as she soon as she walked in, and the last one, was a boy, with very long, blond hair. V.V.

"So, I assume that you want to know answers too, Sachi?" V.V asked as soon as they caught each other's eyes. He smiled, almost wickedly, and gestured for the girl to come forward.

"You know one another?" Suzaku probed, switching between the two in confusion.

The boy only grinned broader. "Not exactly," he said as a mesmerized Sachi walked in, closing the door behind her. She moved closer until there wasn't much space that separated them.

V.V extended a small hand out in front of him, giving the Japanese girl such a deep stare that she felt as if he were looking into her soul. She clasped their hands together, and they shook. "It's nice to finally meet one of the three legendary girls who hold the fate of us all in their palms."

Sachi and Suzaku both blinked in an odd unison and exclaimed together, "WHAT?!"

The blond nodded. "If you do not mind that Mr. Kururugi hears what I have to say, and possibly," he leaned in and whispered, "finds out the truth about you, I'll tell you what you wish to know."

She glanced over at Suzaku who appeared puzzled by this situation, and said, "I don't mind. But how do you know about me? Aren't you a bad guy? Why are you…?"

V.V chuckled. "A bad guy, huh? I suppose that would be up to you to decide for I don't consider myself to be neither good nor bad." His smile dropped. "There aren't many who know about you three, but there are few and I am one of them, and that's all I will say."

"Hold on, I'm still confused…there's something you both know that I don't." Suzaku murmured.

Sachi and V.V shared a silent agreement before the girl, walked over to Suzaku and grabbed both of his hands in her smaller ones. "I don't belong here as much as you do," she muttered, dropping her gaze.

Suzaku stared at her. "What do you mean…?"

"She means exactly what she said," V.V replied. "She, and the other two, Mayu and Nana, do not belong in our…world, if you may. They come from a completely different place. You see, Mr. Kururugi, we have a set future here…a lot do not know it, but I do. Destiny has planned everything out for us, for this raging war between the Japanese and Britannia. However, with these three here, because they do not belong, they have the power to change our outcome." V.V paused, regarding the corpse of the dead Princess. "They could put us on a different path than the one we are meant to follow with little effort, especially that one who has obtained the power of the kings known as Geass."

Suzaku turned from Sachi to V.V. "Geass?"

* * *

Ms. Cecile gasped, but Sachi didn't even flinch as Lloyd hit the ground as hard as he did. She noticed Suzaku's right hand gripping the key to the Lancelot and it pained her to see his left squeezing the pin Euphemia had given him. However, Sachi couldn't think about that now. Envy is a weakness.

Sachi looked pleadingly at the woman who still had her hand over her mouth, and then at the white haired man who sat up, rubbing his injured face. "Just let us go, you two. Suzaku has a…score to settle with Zero." She gave them a reassuring smile. "We'll be fine."

As the pilots went to their Knightmares, entered their keys, and started up their machines, Suzaku connected with Sachi through voice only.

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want to," he said in a low, serious tone.

The Japanese girl got herself comfortable within the machine, grabbing the controls. "I'm coming with you to make sure you don't get yourself killed." She responded wittily.

From inside the Lancelot, Suzaku narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth indignantly. "The only one who'll be getting himself killed is Zero when I find him. He'll pay for using Euphemia. That stupid Geass…"

The corners of Sachi's lips fell into a frown, and as soon as Suzaku launched himself, she did the same and followed behind.

* * *

**Back to Mayu:**

Sitting on the couch in the TV van, I realized the moment I had mostly been dreading was finally here. Zero had started the famous Black Rebellion and my stomach was turning even more than it had before. Kallen and a lot of the Black Knights had already been sent to posts or positions, and that included Nana as well. But for some reason, he had told me to stay put in the TV van that was now making its way to Ashford Academy. I knew Lelouch was planning on using the school for a base, but the last people I wanted to involve were Milly and the others who had been so nice to me even though I had woken up randomly on their ground and seemed suspiciously weird. Yet, in the anime, they never got hurt, so they were safe, right? And I doubt Lelouch would let that happen anyway, especially when Nunnally is going to be there, too, for the time being.

Beside me, Ryou, who had been out cold for quite a while, began to stir. I turned to look at him and poked his belly repeatedly, despite his dried-blood uniform. "Hey, wake up, sleepyhead! Your nap time has been terminated! HEY! Seriously, Ryou, you've missed nearly half of the Black Rebellion!"

The blond groaned and shoved my hand away. He remained silent for a bit, but then his eyes snapped open. "Black Rebellion? But we were just in Lelouch's…" He looked around. "…room?"

"You must have been dreaming because right after the Japanese massacre by the princess, everything started to go downhill."

He sat up, looked down at his uniform, and then back up again. "Right… DAMN."

It was only seconds after, that Tamaki came in. "Come on, you two. We're here at Ashford, you know what we have to do." He spun on his heel and started heading back. "Grab a gun and let's do this!"

* * *

**So… explanation time! Sachi and Ryou both went into a state of coma/shock after the whole massacre thing. Ryou, because of being shot so many times and losing so much blood, and Sachi, because of all the blood she saw (she has a blood phobia) So both of them had dreams that seemed real, but never actually happened. Sachi's dream had been everything in chapter 18, and the conversation she and Ms. Cecile shared in chapter 17. Ryou's dream had been the last scene of chapter 17 with Nana repeating what happened while he was unconscious. So basically, the only thing that really occurred was the first scene of chapter 17 when it was still during the time of the Special Administrative Zone of Japan. Everything after the first scene was a dream. **

**I hope you get it now Dx and I'll be careful where I end my chapters now T_T**


	20. Chapter 20

Ryou and I followed behind the rest of the Black Knights as they secured Ashford Academy. Tamaki, who seemed so giddy to be leading this takeover mission, was the only one out of us all who wasn't wearing a mask. In fact, he was carrying his gun proudly and even spoke in an audacious tone as he barged into the one room I wished he wouldn't have; the Student Council Room.

When we all piled in, I heard the familiar gasps of my friends once they realized that weapons were being pointed at them. The three of the older teens were on their feet in seconds, and the younger Nunnally turned her head in our direction, her eyebrows knotting together in alarm.

Ryou and I remained near the back of the team, closer to the door. Neither of us had our guns trained on them unlike the others.

"Alright!" Tamaki bellowed flamboyantly. "WE, the Black Knights now control the school and that leaves YOU as our hostages! So put your hands on your head if you know what's good for ya!"

Rivalz placed himself in between the three girls and Tamaki, and extended his arms in a defensive gesture. "Please! Lower your guns!" He demanded almost courageously, looking the Black Knight square in the face with his narrowed dark eyes.

"What?" The older man stared at the boy with his mouth agape. "Listen kid, that sure is one hell of a stupid move to make in the situation you're in!"

"Rivalz…" Milly murmured warningly.

"It's okay," He replied. "Let me be the hero for once. I'll protect everyone."

A threatening smile formed on Tamaki's lips and his eyes became wild looking as he raised his gun, the butt of it poised at Rivalz. "IS THAT A FACT?" He thundered, bringing it down. The boy cringed.

My feet launched me forward unconsciously, but Ryou grabbed the sleeve of my black uniform, before I could intervene and save my friend. …Not that I needed to.

"STOP!"

I had almost forgotten who the leader of the Black Knights was.

Everyone froze, Tamaki lowered his weapon, and all of us turned towards the direction of the voice. Standing by the doorway was Zero, and by his side, Kallen and Nana who were both masked and armed. The two seemed oddly calm even though a friend of theirs had almost gotten hurt, but I knew they had to conceal their feelings to hide their identities. Perhaps, on the inside, they weren't very happy about involving the Academy and its students. I know I wasn't.

With everyone's eyes on Zero, I stepped back to Ryou's side, hoping nobody had seen me move.

"I thought I had told you to avoid violence." The rebellious leader said disappointingly.

Tamaki sighed, "But you also told us this would be our command center."

The group of teenagers gawked at Zero.

"Your command center?" Milly repeated. "Why here?"

"This Academy is useful to us and our purposes, and for those reasons, we're turning it into a command center." The disguised prince said.

The Ashford granddaughter frowned. "In our current position, we can't refuse you."

"And I guarantee none of you will be harmed."

Even without being able to see through the mask of Zero, I could tell Lelouch was watching his little sister. And in a way, Nunnally was doing the same. Although her wheelchair was faced the opposite direction, she had her head slightly tilted back and if her eyes were open, she'd be looking right at her masked brother, Lelouch.

"And we're supposed to believe you?" Rivalz questioned. "You guys are in war with us Britannians so that makes us enemies, or have you forgotten that?"

"Please, Rivalz, don't try to start an argument. Just do what he says," Kallen said, stepping towards the Ashford students as she pulled off her mask and revealed her identity.

Being here for real and not watching from a screen this time, I could actually feel the risen tension in the atmosphere, especially during the few seconds of their gasps and the silence that followed but was quickly broken.

"Kallen?" Shirley murmured in a small, shaken voice.

The three stared for a bit longer, and from the wheelchair, Nunnally remained with the same expression of concern she had been wearing since the break-in began, and it seemed to be difficult to read her face and figure out what it was that was going through her head.

"Well…I guess there's a surprise around every corner," Milly just barely whispered as if she meant to say it under her breath. Her tone was unlike one I've ever heard; utterly serious.

Unable to take leaving Kallen hanging without a friend, I occupied my left hand with the gun and using my free one, removed my mask. "You have no idea. Here's another one…" I said, through gritted teeth that begged my mouth to remain shut.

Everyone turned and again, more gasps.

The blue haired boy narrowed his eyes at me. "Mayu? Not you, too. This doesn't make any sense! Kallen and you are so…were so…" Nunnally reached out and touched Rivalz arm just as he trailed off.

Milly's blue orbs burned into my brown ones, and even though I wanted nothing more than to look away, I didn't. "Mayu, we were wondering where you were, especially during a time like this. We don't know where Lelouch is or Suzaku, or Nana or even your brother."

"Well…"

Luckily, I didn't need to explain anything or make up any kind of lie because a Black Knight then burst into the room.

"Zero, it's the Lancelot…and…and with it is an unknown Knightmare."

"An unknown Knightmare? Advanced or modern?" Zero asked.

The Black Knight didn't hesitate with his answer. "Definitely advanced, maybe a custom made Frame."

"So…the Lancelot has a partner now," He murmured quietly.

I looked at Ryou and he nodded slightly.

So my gut had been right all along; Sachi was getting herself involved in the Black Rebellion, too.

* * *

"I don't think this is a good idea, Mayu. We weren't issued by Lelouch to keep post in front of the school, especially not armed in our Knightmare frames," Nana's voiced from her machine. "If an enemy comes by, we'll look hostile and I'd rather not fight so close to Ashford…"

"Remember Zero… Nana, use the code name," I retorted. "Ohgi said it was fine and he's basically second in command. Besides, we're securing Ashford Academy by doing this. It's like a double security precaution for Milly and the others."

Though what I said wasn't a lie, it swerved around the truth. My reason for wanting to be armed and ready was because of Sachi. With Suzaku having an extra teammate, not to mention one who's most likely in love with him, who knows how drastically things could change? Sachi is unpredictable. Better to be unnecessarily prepared than to not be at all.

We had been here for quite a while now and I didn't notice until now that Ryou had been silent this entire time.

"Hey, Ryou, what's wrong?" I asked, although I had no idea if he was connected with Nana and I.

I noticed how his blue Knightmare had its arms out with the palms facing up. It appeared that he was staring at the enormous hands of the machine.

It wasn't until after a long, quiet pause, that the reply came.

"These hands are irritatingly huge," Ryou commented dryly.

"REALLY?" Nana bellowed from her end of the voice over. "I was holding my breath because I thought you were going to say something about fate and destiny and whatnot, but THAT'S what you were silent about? THAT is what's been going through your brain this whole time?!"

Despite the fact that I was just as intimidated by Ryou's little statement as Nana was, I kept myself collected and calm. "You've just noticed that? Are you serious?"

"Of course not. I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"LOOK!" Nana shouted as the arm of her Knightmare pointing past us.

I had no idea how they had managed to get by us without being spotted, (some patrols we were) but Zero and the Lancelot were now both in front of the Academy, no words being exchanged.

The arm of Zero and C.C's Knightmare now rose, poised at the school.

"You coward," Came Suzaku's voice. "What kind of one on one battle is this if you're using hostages against me?"

"This is nobody's fault but your own. You've brought this on yourself."

Neither of them seemed to realize the three of us standing there to the side, or if they did, they didn't care much for us. A silence filled the air. The storyline appeared to be unchanged.

But what about Sachi? Where was she? Why was Suzaku here by himself?

It made me wonder if they had formulated a plan…

The Lancelot suddenly rushed forward, intent on attacking Zero and that's when I remembered.

"SUZAKU, STOP!" Someone yelled.

But they were too late. His frame was stopped dead in its tracks, unable to move.

He had been jammed.

With a seething tone and nasty growl, Suzaku screamed, "YOU BETRAYER!"

A Knightmare jumped from the behind the trees and bushes that surrounded the Academy, pausing just before the circle that Suzaku found himself trapped within. The machine pretty much resembled the Lancelot with the exception of the colors which were white, brown, and green instead and the weapon in the left hand. I couldn't decide whether it was a huge knife or a sword, but it sure was sharp. Just looking at it gave me goose bumps. One thing I was certain of was that the pilot was Sachi.

Her favorite color is green, and that voice was a dead giveaway.

"Suzaku, what do I-"

"So that's your little partner I've heard so much about," Zero murmured.

Just to make sure, I listened more closely.

"You'll be sorry soon, Zero!" Definitely Sachi, no doubt. "Just you wait, Suzaku and I will-"

She was cut off. "You're going to need more of a bite because your bark isn't very daunting," Zero said with a bored tone as the Knightmare turned to leave. "I don't have time for useless bickering."

"I'll show you a bite!" Sachi snapped as she launched her Knightmare forward in attempt to follow C.C and Zero. She ignored the "stop!" that came from Suzaku, bounded past the Lancelot, making sure to avoid the jamming circle and thundered, "I will make you sorry!"

The first to take action was Nana, she propelled herself and Ryou and I quickly mimicked. We all threw ourselves before Sachi, blocking her path.

"This is as far as you go, Sachi," Nana said as her Knightmare raised its gun at her. "We're your friends."

Her reply lacked care for us. "Unless you want me to hack off the arms and legs of your machines, I suggest you all MOVE!" She readied herself in a fighting stance, poising her sword in our direction. "I don't want to hurt anybody besides the one who deserves it, and that's Zero, but if you stand in my way, I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to-"

"Sachi, stop…" Suzaku said.

"I WON'T STOP!" Sachi screamed, taking a deep breath and lowering her voice. "I'll make you happy again, Suzaku. I promise. We'll find Zero together and we'll kill him together. Don't you worry, okay?"

Even though she sounded so clam, I felt like she had lost her damn mind, like she was crazy. The pressure of this anime seemed to be too much for her to handle.

She was talking about killing a person, and she didn't appear to hesitate about it at all.

"Sachi, get ahold of yourself and your words!" I said to her. "Think about what you're saying. Put the sword down and we can all talk instead of fighting. There's no need to spill blood."

"My last warning; move or get sliced. I've been trained to know how to kill, but I'll only-"

"How about we end this?" A voice said from below. By the second word, I already knew who it was. Tamaki and a couple of other armed Black Knights were standing to the side of us, and with them were Rivalz and everyone else except for Nunnally. They all had their hands on their head.

"Now, now," Tamaki called out excitedly, "I think it'd be best if you surrender yourself. You're causing my buddies a lot of trouble here." He pointed the gun at Shirley's head, which made her squeeze her eyes shut in fear. "You wouldn't want to make me angry because when that happens, my fingers tend to slip, if you catch my drift."

As much as I didn't like that sight, I knew Tamaki wouldn't shoot. He was directly ordered by Zero to keep from committing violence on the students. And he wasn't that stupid.

Silence.

"Well?" Tamaki probed.

After a whole minute of nothingness, Sachi finally said, "I don't care about them." She had spat that sentence out rather coldly, and even a little, frightened gasp came from Shirley.

"How about him?" Ryou asked.

Usually when one spoke from the Knightmare frame, their voice came out slightly echoed and metallic, but Ryou's didn't. It was soft and sounded like it sounded from below.

When we all followed the voice, Ryou and Suzaku were seen standing on the ground by the Lancelot. Suzaku was being held at gunpoint, both arms pinned behind his back as if getting arrested. With one hand only doing that, the other hand of Ryou pressed a gun against Suzaku's back warningly, leaving the Japanese boy unable to do much.

That must have been why Suzaku had been so quiet for a while.

"Looks like it worked out nicely," Nana said proudly. "Good work, Tamaki."

The Black Knight grinned and winked.

I wasn't informed of the plan at all, but it worked so I guess that's all that really mattered.

Sachi hadn't said a word, but once she realized Suzaku's position, her sword dropped from the machine's hand, but the metal-like clang never came due to the soft grass below.

"Don't shoot…" She pleaded pathetically. "Don't... I surrender."

"Good to hear," Tamaki said. "Now get out of your Knightmare."

* * *

**Sachi:**

Kamine Island is where the Viceroy Cornelia said Zero was heading, so that's where we were, too. My plan had worked as I thought it would, and Lloyd and Cecile came not a moment too soon.

As I followed behind Suzaku in his once-again functioning Lancelot, I lifted one hand to wipe my face some more, and then returned it back to the proper controls. Fake tears and a broken voice were enough to draw out Mayu and Nana just like I wanted. They were too easily tricked.

And unlike them, I remembered a vital part of the Black Rebellion; the Lancelot rescue.

At this time, Cecile and Lloyd would come and rain on their parade by destroying Rakshata's jamming machine and filling the Lancelot's tank back up to full. And that's exactly what happened.

All I had to do was buy time, and I did so by pretending to cry and whine for an excuse to stay in my Knightmare long enough. I hadn't planned on Mayu and Nana getting out of their Knightmares to talk to me, but it was an extra bonus because it left them unarmed.

As soon as Cecile and Lloyd barged in, I grabbed my sword and made sure to block the two from their machines, leaving them with no choice but to run for cover.

The destroying of the jammers surprised everyone, which made an opening for the escape of the hostages and Suzaku as well.

The escape flew over their heads all thanks to me. It worked out so perfectly, that I couldn't help but repeat the moment in my head over and over again. The reply button was stuck, but I didn't mind.

Suzaku and I were also dubbed as Knights by Cornelia, not that I really cared.

All I wanted was to get to Zero so that Suzaku could be happy. Maybe with that terrorist out of the way, Suzaku can finally move on and forget about Euphemia. He needs to.

* * *

**I did it! It's finally done! Yessssssssssss. I kinda stopped abruptly, but this is one long chapter, longer than I normally make them. And the closer I get to the end of season 1, the more intense it becomes to write a chapter which is one of the reasons why I took so long. Sorry D: but I do tend to write faster when I get encouraging reviews, so don't forget to tell me what you think! :D**

**And thank you, Yuui Akito for that review, it gave me the big push I needed.**


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